The end of the year marks cranberry season in the U.S., and I'm here for it! The great thing about this fruit is its versatility, as well as its health benefits (I'm talking anti-inflammatory and rich in antioxidants to name only two). You can use cranberries in both savoury or sweet dishes. Their inherent sweetness and tartness can help balance your flavours.

When the weather is bitterly cold, I crave creamy, hot meals, and polenta does it for me. It should, however, be paired with a hot, saucy stew. Last time I made polenta, I made mushroom bourguignon, which is a stew of French origin where typically beef is braised in red wine and cooked with onions, carrots, pearl onions, bacon and mushrooms. My vegetarian version was delicious, I was inspired by that and the upcoming Thanksgiving family feasting period to make something similar.

I decided to use cranberry sauce as my ‘red wine’ or sauce to stew the mushrooms. This makes for a rich and seasonal entrée that goes wonderfully with a creamy starch - be it polenta or even mashed potatoes.

You can use any type of mushrooms, but shiitake mushrooms have a strong, earthy, rich, meaty taste, giving them the umami that will make your dish more flavourful.

I also infused the cranberry sauce with fresh thyme to give in an additional layer when folding it into the sautéed mushrooms.

Ingredients

Cranberry sauce:

6 ounces fresh cranberries

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup white sugar

Fresh thyme sprigs

Mushrooms:

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1/3 cup scallions, chopped

1 cup shitake mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon fenugreek

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons cooking wine

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup vegetable broth

Polenta:

Instant polenta

2 tablespoons butter

4 1/2 cups broth

1/4 cup cream

Bean spouts

Instructions

Prepare the cranberry sauce. Dissolve the sugar in the orange juice in a small pot over low heat. Wash and strain the cranberries, then add them to the pot along with a few thyme sprigs. Boil on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture begins to thicken and the cranberries are mostly broken down. Remove the thyme and set aside.

For the mushrooms, on medium-low heat, sauté the salt, pepper, fresh thyme, and all the spices in the butter and olive oil in a large nonstick saucepan for about 1 minute, take care not to burn!

Add the garlic and onion, cook for another 2-3 minutes until the onions begin to soften. Mix in the mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Deglaze the pan around the mushrooms with the soy sauce and the cooking wine, cook for another minute.

Pour the cranberry sauce into the saucepan, mix to incorporate, and cook for about a minute. Add the broth, dried cranberries, and a few extra fresh cranberries. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat, Make sure there is enough liquid for the sauce, if not, add some extra broth and mix to thicken.

Prepare the polenta as directed on the package - boil the broth, add the dried polenta in a steady stream and whisk for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and cream to make it extra creamy.

Serve the polenta and braised mushrooms hot with the bean sprouts tossed in olive oil and thyme.