In Lombardy, a region of which Milan is the capital, there is a mountainous area in the north called Valtellina, where a coarser, darker type of polenta is widely used, thanks to the addition of buckwheat flour, Grano Saraceno in Italian, mixed with corn flour, naturally gluten-free and traditionally cooked with cheese and butter: this is polenta taragna.

For our mini polenta taragna flour cakes, we have combined the typical ingredients of the Lombardy mountains: polenta taragna, Taleggio cheese and mushrooms.

Makes: 7-8 mini-cakes | Preparation time: 20 mins | Cooking time: 25-30 mins

  • Mushrooms of your choice: 250 g
  • Taragna Polenta flour : 250 g
  • Taleggio or Gorgonzola cheese: 50 g
  • Butter, unsalted: 40 g
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Water: 300 ml
  • Grated Parmigiano cheese, 1 tbsp
  • Chopped Parsley, fresh: a bunch
  • Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
  • Salt: to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas 4.

Clean the mushrooms with a tea towel or mushroom brush – do not rinse under running water as they will release water when cooked – and use a knife to peel off the outer layer of the stalk. Slice the mushrooms.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and brown the garlic cloves, then add the chopped parsley, then the mushrooms and fry until the mushrooms are soft.

Dice the Taleggio or Gorgonzola cheese.

Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan. Slowly add the polenta flour and a teaspoon of salt. Stir regularly for about 5 minutes, then lower the heat and add the butter. Stir well and remove from the heat.

Grease muffin tins or ceramic ramekins with butter and begin to fill them in layers: a little polenta on the bottom, then mushrooms, then chunks of cheese, then polenta and so on until the tins are full.

Bake in a preheated oven for 5 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

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