Mushroom cacciatore with polenta

Cacciatore, or 'hunter' in Italian typically refers to a dish prepared 'hunter'-style in a tomato-based sauce, often made with braised chicken or rabbit. This vegetarian version features mushrooms and is served on a bed of buttery polenta, sprinkled with parsley to serve.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• ½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
• 1 kg white cup mushrooms
• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 red capsicum, sliced
• ½ cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 400 g can whole cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup (125 ml) red wine
• 1 cup (250 ml) vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• salt and black pepper, to season
• ½ cup kalamata olives
• cooked polenta, to serve (see below)
• ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Polenta

• 5 cups water
• 1 cup fine polenta
• 75 g butter
• ½ cup finely grated parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C (fan-forced).
2. For the polenta, bring the water to a boil and whisk in the polenta. Whisk for a couple more minutes, then reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 30-45 minutes, then whisk in the butter and parmesan. Thin with a little water if too thick.
3. To make the mushroom cacciatore, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Fry the whole mushrooms for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned, then transfer to the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, then transfer the mushrooms to a medium bowl and set aside.
4. Return the pan to medium heat, then add the onion and stir for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add the garlic, capsicum, and sundried tomato. Stir for a minute, then add the cherry tomatoes, wine, stock, tomato sauce, bay leaves, thyme and season well with salt and pepper. Return the mushrooms to the pot with the olives. Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes. Serve the mushroom cacciatore on the polenta, scattered with parsley.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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