How Do You Like Your Polenta?

What is polenta? It’s ground course cornmeal or what some call corn grits. Originated in Northern Italy, but a big fan of southern American cooking. There are many ways to prepare and cook it. It’s enjoyable as a porridge or allowed to cool and solidify then baked, fried or grilled.

I’m going to give you three recipes; Baked Polenta with Ricotta Cheese and a Tomato Sauce, Instant Pot Cheesy Polenta and Creamy Polenta with Spinach and an Egg. You can purchase Bob’s Red Mill at your local grocer or here on Amazon.




1. BAKED POLENTA WITH RICOTTA CHEESE AND TOMATO SAUCE
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Tomato Sauce:
3 tablespoons garlic juice


1 14 oz can of chunky tomato sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt, to taste

Polenta:
1 cup polenta
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, divided
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Tomato Sauce:
In a small skillet add 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Sauté your onions until translucent. In a blender pour in a the onions with any oil left in skillet add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic juice and the chunky tomato sauce and blend until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and keep warm on low heat.

Polenta:
Preheat the oven to 400F. In a medium size saucepan add 3 cups of water heat to simmer then steam the polenta. Whisk until there are no lumps. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the oil, 4tablespoons of fresh basil and the ricotta cheese, mix well.

In an 8x8 baking dish pour in the polenta and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and let sit room temperature for 1 hour so the polenta can set and firm up. (This is probably a good time to preheat the oven) Bake in the oven 15 minutes or until heated through. Cut the polenta into 8 pieces. In a shallow bowl pour some of the tomato sauce, then top with the polenta and sprinkle on some of the remaining basil pieces.


Or cut it and serve the polenta like this...Yum Yum!

See next post for #2. INSTANT POT CREAMY POLENTA