Mămăligă cu Ciuperci (Polenta with Mushroom Stew)

Romanian Fast With Oil Published April 10, 2026

Mămăligă is to Romania what bread is to France — the foundation upon which everything else rests. During fasting, when butter and cheese are forbidden, a mound of firm cornmeal polenta topped with a dark, savory mushroom stew becomes the centerpiece of the table. This is monastery food at its finest: cheap, filling, and deeply satisfying in a way that needs no apology.

The mushroom stew does the heavy lifting here. Cook the mushrooms hard until they brown and concentrate, build a proper sauce with onions and tomato, and let the paprika do what it does best.

FASTING LEVEL: Fast With Oil (for strict days, cook mushrooms and onions in water — the dish is plainer but still good)
SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the mămăligă:
- 2 cups coarse cornmeal (not instant polenta)
- 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt

For the mushroom stew:
- 500g mushrooms (cremini, button, or mixed forest mushrooms), sliced
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 150ml water or vegetable stock
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD

1. Start the mămăligă. Bring 6 cups of salted water to a boil in a heavy pot. Pour the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 25-30 minutes. The mămăligă is done when it pulls away from the sides of the pot and is very thick. Traditional mămăligă is stirred with a wooden stick and turned out onto a board, sliced with a string.

2. While the mămăligă cooks, prepare the stew. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer — do not crowd the pan. Cook without stirring for 3-4 minutes until they brown on one side, then stir and brown the other side. Work in batches if needed. Properly browned mushrooms are the difference between a great dish and a mediocre one.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion to the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, tomato paste, both paprikas, and thyme. Stir for 1 minute.

4. Add the water or stock and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Turn the mămăligă out onto a wooden board or plate. Spoon the mushroom stew over the top. Scatter with parsley and serve immediately.

NOTES

- Coarse cornmeal is essential. Instant polenta or fine cornmeal will not give the proper firm, slightly grainy texture that defines real mămăligă.
- Forest mushrooms (porcini, chanterelles) are traditional and superior, but ordinary button mushrooms, properly browned, are perfectly good.
- Leftover mămăligă can be sliced and grilled or fried the next day, then topped with the reheated stew.
- In Romania, mămăligă is served with nearly everything — beans, stews, sauerkraut, zacuscă. Master this recipe and you have half of Romanian fasting cuisine covered.