BAKED POLENTA WITH VEGETABLES

Baked Polenta with Vegetables image

This recipe is inspired by one that Marion Cunningham created for her book Cooking with Children, when she found that the youngsters in her cooking class didn't have the patience to stir and stir for 40 minutes. It makes a satisfying supper the first time around, and my version allows you to be flexible with the vegetable embellishments, so you use up some of your leftovers. If you want to have the treat of a delicious crispy polenta cake to enjoy later in the week, increase this recipe by adding an additional 1/4 cup polenta and 3/4 cup more warm water so you'll have that extra polenta to grill or fry

Number Of Ingredients 9

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Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, or 1 shallot, chopped
1/2 small tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped cooked spinach, Swiss chard, or beet greens
3 or 4 strips roasted pepper chopped or other cooked vegetables (see suggestions)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more if needed
1/3 cup medium-grain polenta
1 cup warm water
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small skillet, and sauté the onion for a few minutes; then add the tomato and cook another 2 minutes. Mix in the additional cooked vegetables, salt lightly, and remove from the heat. Put the polenta in a smallish, rather shallow baking dish, and stir in the warm water and remaining olive oil. (Don't forget that if you want leftovers, add the additional amount of polenta and water.) Add the sautéed vegetables, sprinkle on the rest of the salt, and stir everything together. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 25 minutes, then sprinkle Parmesan on top (I put the third tablespoon over the portion I am going to eat right away). Bake another 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. If I've made the larger amount of polenta, I scoop out the excess and put it aside, eating up all the vegetables with my polenta the first time around.
You can vary your cooked-vegetable additions to your heart's content-chopped asparagus spears or fiddleheads in spring, perhaps, quartered artichoke hearts, chunks of small zucchini, broccoli florets, and anything else the garden offers in summer. If you don't have roasted red pepper on hand, use about a quarter of a fresh bell pepper, any color, but sauté it first with the onion. If you want a more substantial dish, add some slivers of ham or slices of a cooked spicy sausage. Plan to eat all of these embellishments with your first serving, saving the pure polenta for later.
Gather the remaining polenta in your hand, and gently shape it into an oval or round piece; if you have too much to handle in one piece, make two. Preheat your broiler. Brush the polenta lightly with olive oil, and set it on the broiler tray or on a baking sheet. Broil the polenta cake until browned and crusty on the top. If you want it doubly crisp, try turning it over and browning the other side. To fry it, film generously with oil a skillet large enough to hold the polenta. Heat the pan, and gently slip in the polenta cake. Fry until browned, then turn and do the other side. Serve with some juicy meat or poultry. Or try it with butter and warm maple syrup for breakfast.