Fragments of a dish

Polenta and gorgonzola fondue with turnip tops and mushrooms is a recipe made up of four elements, each of which is good, but together they are exceptional. This recipe brings joy. To prepare it, we have used a Valsugana polenta that can be cooked in just eight minutes. If you have more time, you can use traditional polenta.

For the turnip greens, I bought them from my trusty old greengrocer, a person who only sells what he grows. Every now and then he has these fantastic turnip greens on sale that you can’t help but buy. I personally love them for their spectacularly bitter taste. When I cook them, I avoid boiling them, as I think that would take away the essence. I tend not to overcook them, just the right amount. The only difficulty is cleaning them; I hate it, but it is definitely worth it. How do I clean them? I keep the tops, halve them if they are too big and remove the tougher stems and yellow leaves. If the stem near the leaves is too hard, I cut it in half to make it softer and quicker to cook.

As for washing, I personally soak them in water with a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for a few minutes and then rinse well. Alternatively, you can use a solution of amuchina and water.

Mushrooms

In this case I bought champignon mushrooms, but portobello mushrooms would have worked just as well. I don’t usually buy mushrooms to clean because I’m lazy and like to open the packet and throw them straight into the pan, but for a better photographic result I decided to use these fresh mushrooms. This is how I clean the mushrooms: we take the mushroom and remove the soil attached to the stalk by cutting it slightly upwards. Using a knife, peel off the cap and lift the film covering it. Pull it towards the middle of the cap and it will come off easily. We then rinse it thoroughly in water, even running our hands over it to make sure we remove every bit of dirt. Once cleaned and washed, we cut them into quarters for this recipe.

When cooking, you will find that the mushrooms release a lot of water, but don’t worry. Just cook them at a high temperature so that the water evaporates and the mushrooms are slightly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Ingredients

• Polenta Valsugana
• 500g Champignon mushrooms
• 220g Sweet gorgonzola
• 200g of milk
• 20g butter
• 2 eggs
• Q.B. Walnuts
• Q.B. Salt
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Breadcrumbs
• Seed oil
• Garlic

Directions

• Pour 1 ½ litres of water into a saucepan with high sides.
• When it comes to a boil, add the polenta, stirring it with a spoon or better still with a whisk.
• Salt the polenta and leave it to cook for 8 minutes on a low heat (6 on induction).
• In a frying pan, add the oil and garlic and fry until golden brown. Then add the turnip greens, cleaned and washed beforehand. Add half a glass of water and cook until the stalk is soft, but not too soft.
• In another frying pan, put oil and garlic, fry the garlic and add the mushrooms, cleaned and cut into four pieces, salt and cook for 5 minutes.
• When the polenta is cooked, pour it into a square container and leave to cool. Cut the polenta into any shape you like, dip it in the egg and breadcrumbs and fry it in plenty of oil. Repeat the process until all the polenta is fried.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat. Add the gorgonzola and the milk. Cook until the gorgonzola has melted, remembering to stir with a whisk.

Notes

• We can use all the types of mushrooms we like best, the same with vegetables.