Creamy cornmeal with roasted mushrooms and crispy nettles

This was a lunch I honestly just threw together a few weeks ago but it turned out so good that I thought I would write it up. I absolutely love cornmeal porridge – so cheap, so easy, so filling, shelf stable and endlessly adaptable. This treats it as simple as can be – as a savoury base for some very roasted mushrooms and some green crispy bits freshened by some lemon and chilli. A fried egg would be good on this too but I’ve kept it simple and vegan here. This recipe just straddles spring and summer but could be made at any time of year.

When I’m picking nettles I only ever choose the top 4 or 6 leaves. It is important to only pick young nettles so look out for flowers or seeds forming on the stems – these leaves will be too old to use. If you have a patch in your garden you can cut them back in the early summer and get a fresh batch of new growth within weeks and you can do this again before the season ends. Gloves are best but if you avoid the leaves and reach for the stem you can usually pick without being stung – usually. I forage predominantly from my garden and I actually recommend it – easy, sustainable gardening!

Ingredients

– Serves Two

– 10 or 15 fresh nettle leaves washed and dried.

– A few handfuls of wild greens washed and spun dry – I used dock leaf, young hogweed stem, three cornered leek and ribwort plantain but any wild (or not so wild!) herbs will work. Plus a few wild flowers.

– 100g fine cornmeal or quick cook polenta (Normal polenta will take longer to cook so follow the given instructions if that is what you have.

-1 whole punnet of closed cap mushrooms – this would be delightful with wild mushrooms but we aren’t quite there yet!

– 1 tbsp neutral oil – preferably in a spray form

– Salt and pepper

– 1 lemon – zest and juice

Instructions

1. Turn your oven up full – mine goes to about 260 C. Tear or cut the mushrooms into bite sized pieces and place on a tray in one layer. Spray or brush with some oil, season with some salt and transfer to the hot oven. Allow to roast for 20 – 30 minutes until they are browned and sizzling.

2. Cook the cornmeal according to instruction – I use a simple fine cornmeal which cooks fairly quickly. I add it to 300ml of cold water and put it on to the heat. I stir as it comes up to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Taste and check that it is smooth – if not, give it another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to sit until everything else is ready.

3. Spray or brush a tray with oil. Lay out the nettles and brush or spray with more oil. Once the mushrooms are cooked remove them from the oven and transfer the nettles in. Allow the nettles to cook for a few minutes but keep an eye on them as they can easily burn. They will sizzle and darken in this time – remove and allow to crisp up on the tray.

4. Chop the greens into small pieces. Put a pan on the heat and allow to become very hot before adding some oil and frying the greens until they are cooked through and a little charred. Season with salt, the chilli and a squeeze of lemon.

5. Check the cornmeal again for seasoning before ladeling into warm bowls. Top with the mushrooms, warm greens and crispy nettles. Finish with some more lemon juice, the lemon zest and some good olive oil.