Baked Eggs with Polenta and Mushrooms

This is an awesome go-to weeknight dinner or quick weekend brunch. Everything is probably in the pantry already and it comes together very, very quickly. I even made the polenta and mushrooms ahead of time, separately, and was able to put assemble the cups right before mealtime and it worked beautifully.

I cannot wait to make this on a larger scale and serve to guests since it feels so indulgent and fancy…who wouldn’t love warm polenta with the rich flavors of the mushrooms and runny egg that you can dig into with a spoon on a cold fall day?

One change I might make would be to add more cheese, both to the polenta and on top of the whole thing, but that’s probably more a matter of personal preference.

This polenta is the perfect brunch dish. But it’s also a great breakfast/lunch/dinner dish, rich and flavorful, with creamy polenta and the earthy taste of mushrooms, completed by the great texture of egg and cheese on top. Great comfort food!

I used 3 portobello mushrooms and 3 tbsp grated Pecorino instead of 2.

This is a comforting brunch or even a fall dinner dish that’s easy to prepare. In the time it takes to preheat the oven, the mushrooms can be diced. You can use pre-diced pancetta and instant polenta to make this all pull together very quickly.

I felt a little tweak was needed. I would add some flavor to the polenta, cooking it more like I normally would in either broth or a combination of milk and water or maybe stirring in a little of the cheese.

We cooked this 3 times, using portobellas and creminis and then King Oysters (all worked nicely) and used cast iron mini coquettes twice and finally a slightly larger stoneware soup mug. The polenta makes a bit more than you need if using smaller coquettes but more comfortably fit in the larger stoneware soup bowls (handled like you might use for French Onion soup).

Lesson learned from the first batch: leave enough room for the egg (the egg white rapidly will slide over the rim if there isn’t enough room when you add the egg) and maybe create a slight well by pressing the second layer of mushrooms in gently with a spoon or spatula in the center first. Also, if the pancetta is hopping out of the pan, lower the heat and it is time to add the mushrooms!

I had never used instant polenta before—it comes together very quickly and, in fact, if you cook to the recipe, I suggest you sift in the polenta to the boiling water while stirring gently or whisking, so you don’t end up with any dry lumps. I actually found it was slightly better to start sifting it in a bit before the boil when I tried it with broth, and finally, using a stoneground cornmeal from Hayden Mills for my final version, along with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice in the broth and skipping additional salt since the broth was salted. The cornmeal took maybe 5 minutes to thicken and was done at the lowest heat, but was worth it as the texture was more interesting (a blend of fine and medium coarse that you get with stoneground. That refinement turned this into something worthy of brunch with guests. Add an extra sprig of thyme on top!

I don’t see why this would not also work with maitake or other favourite mushrooms (actually anything other than beech mushrooms which give up too much water), and quick cooking grits would work fine!