Inspired from www.refinery29.com
Corn is not exactly a best dietary friend to us. If you’ve dallied in any number of food documentaries, you’re likely to know that humans unknowingly consume a huge amount of corn simply by choosing processed and packaged foods. It’s gotten so bad that Michael Pollan famously calls us “processed corn, walking”.
So after that, you might be wondering why we’re featuring polenta – a dish made almost entirely of corn grits. Well, if you’re a tuji, we’re guessing that your diet is pretty plant-based and low on the processed spectrum. If that’s the case and you’re not allergic to it, a little corn is ok – especially when cookin’ it at home.
Tip: your polenta will harden into the shape of its container as it cools. Use your hardened polenta as next-day leftovers by slicing it up and baking or sautéing your slices and simply topping the sauce. (You can reheat it and add a little liquid to get the polenta soft again too – it just won’t likely get as soft.)
Ingredients
For the Polenta:
- 3 cups water
- sea salt
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Corn Grits
- 1 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
- ¼ cup grated goat parmesan
Topping/ Sauce:
- coconut oil (to sauté)
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- broccolini
- 4-6 medium, fresh tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped sundried tomatoes
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- sea salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- fresh thyme, optional
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
Optional:
- pine nuts to finish
- kalamata olives (optional) to finish
Method
Polenta:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of sea-salted water to boil. Once boiling, slowly add the corn grits, stirring as you go.
2. Lower heat to medium to maintain a steady simmer and continue to stir, ensuring to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot. Keep a close eye, stirring constantly for almost 30 minutes.
3. Add coconut oil and ¼ cup grated goat cheese, stirring to combine.
Topping/ Sauce:
1. In a large sauté pan, add a little coconut oil and minced garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes until garlic is browned and then add the broccolini. Saute the broccolini (or other green) until it is bright green. Once slightly softened and green – remove from the pan and set the broccoli aside.
2. Put the chopped fresh tomatoes and red pepper flakes into the warmed pan. Continue to sauté until tomatoes are well broken down, then add the sundried tomatoes, salt, pepper and thyme.
3. Continue to stir, cooking a few minutes until incorporated and then add the olive oil, reducing the heat and scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the flavours. Add the broccoli back in.
4. Keep the sauce warm while polenta finishes cooking.
Final dish:
Assemble everything together by first adding a scoop or two of polenta into a bowl, top with the sauce and broccoli and finish with some toasted pine nuts, olives or capers. A turn of sea salt and black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
