You’ll love these pan-seared medallions over polenta. Tender meat and creamy polenta paired with caramelized onions and mushrooms make a rustic but elegant dinner or lunch. A satisfying dish that will impress all with minimal effort.
Do you like lamb? Have you ever prepared it? Many people are intimidated by lamb dishes. My mum included. She has this image in her head, that lamb meat always comes with a strong, pungent flavour. I guess she had some bad experiences. Anyway, lamb is very easy to work with. When prepared in the right way it is mouth melting. Absolutely delicious.
By following this recipe you’ll get extremely tender lamb meat. In order to achieve a tender and juicy lamb, simply marinate it for a couple of hours or, even better, overnight. I put together a simple marinade made of rosemary, garlic, lemon and oil. A classic one with a lovely fresh and herbal flavour.
Why did I pick medallions? Since I decided on pan-seared lamb, I knew medallions would do the right job. They are about 2 cm thick round pieces of meat, which are quick to prepare. Especially, when looking for a pink middle. Wink. They only need a couple of minutes on each side, long enough to get a thin crust. Of course, if you like your meat well-done, then simply extend the cooking time.
If you like quickly prepared meat, you might like these recipes as well: pan-seared beef liver or crispy garlic chicken breast.
Next to lamb, I put polenta, onions, mushrooms and rosemary, which rounds everything up. Polenta is a wonderful Italian dish. Besides being delicious, it is also gluten-free. A great thing about polenta is, you can enjoy it soft or firm. In fact, when cold, it gets very firm and therefore perfect to make fried or roasted slices. I’ve made lovely polenta slices with roasted cherry tomatoes and burrata.
If you prefer something else than polenta and onions, then you might try these roasted vegetables, delicious zoodles or these rosemary smashed potatoes.
The caramelised onions and earthy mushrooms complement the lamb and the polenta. I simply love it. This is really a comforting, satisfying and hearty meal, perfect for the whole fall and winter season.
Ingredients for two portions of lamb medalions over polenta:
- 250 g lamb medallions (marinated)
- 100 g polenta flour
- 2 yellow or red onions
- 70 ml white wine
- 7-10 small champignons
- 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- salt
Ingredients for the marinade:
- 1 garlic clove
- salt and pepper
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 3 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
To begin (also one day ahead), marinate the lamb. Peel and chop the garlic and chop the rosemary. Put them both in a smaller bowl and stir in salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Then, place the medallions in a plastic zip bag and pour the marinade into the bag as well. Squeeze the marinade around the bag to cover all of the lamb medallions and place it in the fridge for at least one hour.
In the meantime, peel and slice the onions, clean and trim the mushrooms.
In a medium pot, add the polenta, half of wine and some water (1,5 -2 times the amount of polenta). Bring to a light boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes with occasional stirring.
At the same time, prepare a larger and a smaller non-sticking pan. In the small one, drizzle some olive oil, add the onions and saute them. Once they get glossy, add the mushrooms, rosemary, salt and cook for a couple more minutes. Deglaze with half of the wine and cook 3 minutes longer.
At the same time preheat the larger pan. Once hot, add a teaspoon of butter and the lamb medallions. Sear the lamb for 3-4 minutes until gnarly all over but still blushing in the middle. Or, of course, to your own preference.
At this point, remove the lamb from the pan, wrap it in tin foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the final touch, add a knob of butter and parmesan to the polenta. Stir to combine.
Finally, spoon the polenta onto plates, add the onions and mushrooms on a side and top with lamb. Serve with a glass of wine. You’ll love these lamb medallions over polenta.
Enjoy.
