GoProvidence.com and the Providence Journal bring you Small Bites: Easy-to-Digest Recipes. There are only a handful of them in Rhode Island, but Marisa Walachy, at 25, is one already. She's the executive chef at Milk Money, and a woman. The New Jersey native graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 2014 with degrees in pastry and baking, and food service management. The dishes at Milk Money are globally inspired. The menu used to change every few weeks, but Walachy said she is moving to a seasonal schedule. That's good news for diners who enjoyed a dish and were disappointed to not see it on a subsequent visit. Check out the video and recipe below for Walachy's vegetarian wild mushroom polenta dish.
Wild Mushroom Polenta
- 3–4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal (local is best)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup wild mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- Pepita seeds
- Goat cheese
- Dried cranberries
- Pea greens
Whisk the stock, cream and cornmeal in a saucepan over medium heat. How much stock you use depends on how you like your polenta. Some people prefer it thicker, others creamier.
Whisk while it cooks to make it creamy. You can also add more cream to achieve your desired texture. Chef Walachy adds in 1/4 cup. When cooked to your liking, take off the heat and set aside.
Heat butter in a saute pan and add the wild mushrooms. Saute to cook and, when almost done, add rice wine vinegar. Remove from heat.
Divide polenta on two plates or four smaller plates. Top with mushrooms, pepita seeds, crumbled goat cheese and dried cranberries, to your taste. Chef Walachy reconstitutes the cranberries.
Garnish with pea greens.
