Polenta, Mushrooms & Soft-Boiled Egg

📝 Ingredients

• 250 g instant polenta (quick-cook)
• 500 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 500 ml water
• 50 g grated Parmesan
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 600 g button mushrooms
• 8 eggs
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 15 g fresh parsley
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large saucepan
• Saucepan
• Large frying pan
• Whisk
• Wooden spoon
• Ladle

📖 Steps

1. Clean the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper, without soaking them: waterlogged, they won't brown. Trim the earthy ends of the stalks and slice the mushrooms 5 mm thick. Chop the garlic, finely chop the parsley and strip the thyme leaves.
2. Bring the saucepan, well filled with water, to the boil. Gently lower in the eggs straight from the fridge with the ladle and cook for 6 minutes 30 seconds at a gentle boil. Immediately plunge them into a bowl of very cold water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking.
3. Peel the eggs by tapping the shell on the work surface, then removing it under a trickle of water, starting from the rounded end where the air pocket is. Keep them in a bowl of hot tap water so they stay warm.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the large frying pan over a high heat. Spread half the mushrooms in a single layer, leave them for 3 minutes without stirring, then sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and dry. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the oil and mushrooms.
5. Return all the mushrooms to the pan, add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute over a medium heat, stirring. Only season with salt and pepper now (salt draws out the water), add the parsley off the heat and cover to keep warm.
6. In the large saucepan, bring the milk, water and 1 tsp salt to a simmer, keeping an eye on it, as milk boils over quickly. Pour in the polenta in a steady stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
7. Turn the heat down low and cook, stirring with the wooden spoon, for the time given on the packet (often 5 minutes), until the polenta comes away from the sides. Off the heat, stir in the butter and Parmesan. If it's too thick, loosen it with a little hot water.
8. Serve straight away, as polenta sets as it cools: divide it between 4 shallow bowls, top each with the mushrooms and 2 soft-boiled eggs cut in half, then finish with a grind of pepper.