Soft Polenta, Sauteed Pine Mushrooms & Poached Eggs

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

Mushroom stock

grapeseed oil

500g button mushrooms, cleaned, halved if large

2L chicken stock

250ml apple juice

50ml brandy

5 sprigs thyme

5 black peppercorns

Polenta

170g fine yellow polenta

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, picked and leaves washed

125g mascarpone

40g grated parmesan

½ lemon

Salt & pepper

Pine mushrooms

700g pine mushrooms cleaned

grapeseed oil

100g butter softened

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ bunch thyme

Poached eggs

6 eggs

100ml white vinegar

salt

1.5L water

Method

For the mushroom stock. Preheat the stockpot over high heat. Add a thin film of grapeseed oil, sauté the mushrooms in batches until golden, strain off fat. Return all the mushrooms to the pot, add all the other ingredients, bring up to the boil, reduce the heat and bring the stock down by half. Strain and chill.

For the polenta, bring 750ml of the mushroom stock up to the boil, stream in the polenta whisking as you go. Reduce the heat to low and cook out for 15 minutes stirring as you go. Stir in the mascarpone and the parmesan, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

For the pine mushrooms, preheat a large frying pan over high heat. Add a heaped tablespoon of soft butter, 1 clove garlic and 2 sprigs thyme, coat the mushrooms in this butter and season with salt and pepper, drain on some paper towel, repeat the process with all of the mushrooms, adding more butter, thyme and garlic each time.

To make the poached eggs, bring the water and the vinegar up to the boil in a deep pot. Crack the eggs into separate ramekins. Reduce the water to a simmer, stir the centre of the pan with a whisk or a wooden spoon to create a whirlpool effect. Drop the eggs in one at a time, ensuring that they are rotating the pan which gives a great shape. The eggs should take 2.5 to 3 minutes, once cooked, drop into a pot of iced water to stop the cooking and retain.

To serve, reheat the eggs in simmering water for 2 minutes, if the polenta has thickened loosen with a little hot mushroom stock, spoon onto serving plates, top with the mushrooms and the eggs (season the eggs with a little salt and pepper when they come out of the water) garnish with a little extra parmesan.