• Vegetarian
• Make-Ahead

Ingredients

1. 2 cups milk
2. 2 cups water
3. 1 cup stone-ground grits (see Note)
4. Salt
5. 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (1 cup)
6. 3 cups boiling water
7. 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8. 1 small carrot, thinly sliced crosswise
9. 1 small onion, thinly sliced crosswise
10. 1 medium celery rib, thinly sliced crosswise
11. 3 medium garlic cloves, lightly smashed
12. 4 ounces large white or cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
13. 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
14. 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
15. 2 bay leaves
16. 2 parsley sprigs
17. 1 tarragon sprig
18. 5 thyme sprigs
19. 1 cup dry white wine
20. 1 cup dry sherry
21. 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
22. Freshly ground pepper
23. 1 1/4 pounds fresh porcini, chanterelles or stemmed shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
24. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
25. 1/3 cup snipped chives

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°. In a large ovenproof saucepan, combine the milk with the 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Whisk in the grits and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring back to a boil, whisking constantly. Cover the grits with a tight-fitting lid and bake for 1 hour, or until the liquid is nearly absorbed and the grits are just tender; stir at least once with a wooden spoon while baking.
2. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, combine the dried porcini with the 3 cups of boiling water and let soak until the porcini are softened, about 15 minutes. Drain the porcini and reserve 2 cups of the soaking liquid. Finely chop the porcini mushrooms.
3. In a large saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and cook over moderate heat until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the white mushrooms and the chopped porcini mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the fennel seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley, tarragon and 2 of the thyme sprigs. Stir in the wine and sherry and cook over moderate heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved 2 cups of porcini soaking liquid and boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes.
4. Strain the sherry broth into a small saucepan, pressing hard on the solids with a ladle or wooden spoon. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the butter. Season the sherry broth with salt and pepper.
5. In a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the fresh porcini mushrooms and the remaining 3 thyme sprigs and cook over moderately high heat until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Return the grits to low heat and vigorously whisk in the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and the Parmesan cheese. Stir in the chives, then season the grits with salt and pepper. Spoon the grits into warmed shallow bowls. Top the grits with the sautéed porcini and spoon the sherry broth all around.

Make Ahead

The sautéed porcini and sherry broth can be refrigerated separately overnight. Gently reheat the porcini and the sherry broth separately.

Notes

Keane prefers stone-ground grits from Anson Mills (ansonmills.com) because of their intense corn flavor.