By Yotam Ottolenghi
Updated Nov. 15, 2023
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(413)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Packed full of umami, roasted mushrooms and tomatoes are coated in a fresh, fragrant Sichuan chile oil and served on top of creamy polenta in this midweek dinner hit. The oil can be made ahead, and will continue to develop in flavor. Make extra, as you’ll want to drizzle it over your eggs in the morning. Try using a variety of mushrooms — some oyster mushrooms torn into chunks, or portobellos cut into thick slices — but do make sure to slice them to the same thickness so that they cook evenly as they roast. The mixture is perched on a very simple polenta, but feel free to add butter, milk and cheese to it for a bit of extra indulgence.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- ½cup vegetable oil
- 1cinnamon stick
- 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
- 1tablespoon Aleppo pepper flakes or 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 2garlic cloves, finely grated
- 2teaspoons soy sauce
- ½teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle
- ½teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle
- 12ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
- 5scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, plus 1 scallion for garnish, thinly sliced at an angle
- Salt
- 1pound mushrooms (any combination of oyster, portobello, trumpet or baby bella mushrooms), cut into ¼-inch strips or slices
- 1¼cups/170 grams quick-cooking polenta
- ¼cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
466 calories; 30 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 701 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 475 degrees.
Step
2
In a small pan, heat ¼ cup of the oil and the cinnamon stick over medium-high for 5 minutes, until the oil is hot and the cinnamon stick is lightly bubbling. Add the ginger, Aleppo pepper flakes, garlic, soy sauce, cumin and Sichuan peppercorns and cook for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and leave to marinate.
Step
3
Mix the tomatoes and 1-inch scallion pieces with 1 tablespoon of oil and ¼ teaspoon of salt and roast on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, until lightly charred. Set aside.
Step
4
While the tomatoes roast, toss the mushrooms with ½ teaspoon salt and the remaining ¼ cup oil and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Set in the oven along with the tomatoes to roast for 15 minutes, turning halfway through, until lightly golden and cooked through. Set aside.
Step
5
In a medium saucepan, bring 4 ¼ cups water to a boil over high heat. Add the polenta and 1 teaspoon of salt and whisk until the mixture comes back to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2 minutes, whisking regularly, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for a few minutes.
Step
6
Remove the cinnamon stick from the chile oil and gently reheat the oil for 1 minute over medium heat, until loosened.
Step
7
To serve, pour the polenta onto a lipped platter, then scatter the mushrooms and the tomato mixture over. Top with the hot oil, thinly sliced scallions and the cilantro.
Ratings
4
out of 5
413
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Cooking Notes
Edward
I made this tonight. I always follow the recipe the first time to experience what the chef intended. Excellent! I would not change a thing. Fast, easy, and super tasty. Thank you Yotam Ottolenghi
BJ
Start the tomatoes roasting, then add the mushrooms 5 minutes later so that both are done at the same time. Apparently tomatoes take a little longer to roast than mushrooms.
adele
Made this tonight and it was delicious! A keeper, although I added a generous handful of Parmesan to the polenta.
Grace
I made regular polenta in the microwave. I roasted the tomatoes with scallions in the air fryer, followed by the mixed mushrooms. Tossed the tomatoes and mushrooms with the cilantro, and then placed them atop the polenta. I put a jar of chile crisp on the table to season to taste. A quick and tasty meal.
Andrea
I think you roast the tomatoes for five minutes while you prep the mushrooms, then add the sheet pan with mushrooms to the oven for 15 minutes and take everything out at the same time.
Yoda Naman
I love how the spice oil includes cinnamon along with the peppers!
Mark
Is there any way to get the ingrdient list converted to metric measurements (grams, litres, and kgs)?
Jeff
My wife made a carrot ginger soup the other day, and asked me to taste it and see what I could do to boost the flavor. I had just finished reading this recipe, and thought that the flavored oil would be just the thing. Indeed it was. I’ll be making that oil to keep around for all sorts of uses, next to the chili flakes, I always have. I’m sure it will be great with the mushrooms and polenta, too.
jeploz
450 too hot. Made oil smoke and set off alarms. I lowered it to 400. Requires more time.
Ariel
Delicious- don’t be shy with the tomatoes!
Susanna
I found this to be an outstanding recipe made just as is. It comes together in a complex, lovely way -- it's a very unusual flavor combination -- but it's quite easy to make. I agree with the note to use multiple different kinds of mushrooms, and it was important to roast them a little longer than 15 minutes (in my oven) to make sure they were truly golden. The spiced oil is fantastic. A winner!
Nance
This was so excellent! So many wonderful diverse flavors tempered by a creamy polenta. And it’s vegan! The key is in that hot oil - don’t skimp on the cumin, or other flavors you might love (Szechuan pepper!). It brings everything together.
Bingo!
Matchstick sized ginger bits go in to the oil with the rest of the spices!
Paris C
This was delicious! That blooming spice mixture has changed how I approach plated dishes—I’ve been doing it for most of my recipes now with different combinations of spices and aromatics!
Don D.
I cooked this tonight as a vegan dish -- no added butter or cheese to the polenta. And it was fantastic. The tomatoes (which I will double next time), mushrooms, spicy oil and cilantro add plenty of taste to the polenta. This is a dish greater than the sum of its parts.
Lena B
Absolutely delicious. Made as per recipe. The second time I didn’t have access to an oven so sautéed vegetables in a cast iron pan, also worked. Agree that one could double the vegetables.
Nancy Student
Off the charts delicious. I followed pretty much to a tea, but instead of creamy polenta, I used the polenta cooked in the oven and grilled squares and served the mushroom and tomatoes over that. The oil splatters quite a bit when adding the ingredients, but worth the cleanup required.
NDB
Grate the ginger. Add sausage.
Maria K
Beyond delicious! I had to use no cheese, and parmesan would have made it even better. The polenta tasted a little thin without dairy so I added 1.5 tbsp of ghee and it was great.
AO
probably the best recipe i've made so far in 2024. as with all ottolenghi recipes, it makes 4x the amount of oil/sauce you need. i made this recipe while angry and crying; they say don't cook while you're angry so i figured it would turn out bad. i was wrong -- it's amazing. i added mint at the end and roasted the shrooms and tomatoes all at the same time, separately but on the same baking sheet. the cinnamon with the soy sauce... i'm still drooling over this.
Oh-No Nancy
I made it without polenta and it was great. I wish I had drained the mushrooms before adding them to the tomatoes
VS
Super tasty. I’ll make this again, with one change. My scallions almost roasted away to nothing, so I’ll add them later/cook them fewer minutes next time.
Maria
This was very flavorful! Next time I will use more tomatoes. I will also cook all the veggies on a single sheet pan because the mushrooms could hVe used a couple more minutes. I felt there was too much polenta for the amount of veggies, so next time I will also reduce the polenta. Would make an excellent accompaniment to a simple fish or shrimp!
Sylvia
This was delicious. I made it with fresh cherry tomatoes and frozen mushrooms and it was great. Next time I will look for smaller cherry tomatoes and add double.
CanuckCook
This was oily - I'd back off on the amount of oil in the finishing oil next time (but the spice mix was tasty). This also felt like it was missing some protein - tofu or shrimp might be good.
Don D.
I cooked this tonight as a vegan dish -- no added butter or cheese to the polenta. And it was fantastic. The tomatoes (which I will double next time), mushrooms, spicy oil and cilantro add plenty of taste to the polenta. This is a dish greater than the sum of its parts.
Barbara
I made this on vacation, lacking many ingredients (including the tomatoes!). I used chili crisp as the base for the finishing sauce. This was a fabulous dish! I look forward to making it at home and following the recipe with care.
Paris C
This was delicious! That blooming spice mixture has changed how I approach plated dishes—I’ve been doing it for most of my recipes now with different combinations of spices and aromatics!
Joyce
Rather than polenta, try sourdough toast. Use greens (chard/kale) rather than tomatoes in winter. Pepper sauce and roasted mushrooms are delicious!
MrsChill
This is comfort food. Easy and satisfying. Made as directed and served with some crusty sourdough. Definitely will make the chili oil again for other uses! I don’t like using vegetable oil so used extra light olive oil and it worked great.
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