This was another more or less spontaneous pantry dinner. The creamy ragú is based on brown mushrooms, mountain lentils, green asparagus and smoked tofu.
ingredients:
- 1 cup polenta
- 1 cup mountain lentils
- 400g brown mushrooms
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 100g green asparagus, sliced
- 80g smoked tofu, diced
- 1 (red) onion, chopped
- 1 glove of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp cashew butter
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tbsp white miso
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp mild dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup dry white wine or white vinegar
- 1 cup of plant milk
- salt, pepper to taste
- 1/3 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- sprinkle of chili flakes
- fresh parsley, chopped
- (cashew parmesan)
method:
- rinse lentils and cook as instructed (about 25 min in salty water), drain and set aside
- bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil, whisk in polenta slowly and cook on medium heat for about 25-30min until polenta really thickens, stir occasionally
- grill tofu in a non-sticking pan for about 10min, add onions and asparagus, roast for another 10 min (until fragrant and brown)
- add mushrooms and cook until demoisturized
- add some chili flakes, black pepper, miso and tomato paste as well as garlic, roast for another 2 min
- deglaze with white wine and let it evaporate completely
- add soy sauce / tamari, mustard, nutritional yeast and plant milk, reduce heat and let it simmer for about 10 min
- if polenta is ready, add lemon juice and zest, nutmeg, cashew butter, some more salt and black pepper if needed, dash of plant milk if too sticky – stir well
- short before serving add lentils to the ragu and mix well
- serve ragú over warm polenta
- top with freshly chopped parsley and some more black pepper, lemon juice and if you like – as I did – some cashew parmesan
