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VegWeb.com  |  Recipes  |  Beans and Legumes  |  Black Beans  |  Frugal Black Beans and Polenta « previous next »
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Recipe submitted by thedeadlyoctopus, 07/14/06

Frugal Black Beans and Polenta

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

    1 can (15 oz)
    2 cups dry cornmeal grits (polenta) or cornmeal
    6 cups of water (plus about 3/4ths of a cup)
    cayenne pepper, to taste- suggestions will follow
    sea salt
    pepper
    vegetable oil
    1 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
    1 1/2 teaspoon flour (optional)

Directions:

This is a very simple recipe.  First, prepare the polenta as follows:  1. Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil with about a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  2. Slowly pour in the polenta, a little at a time, stirring as you add to prevent lumps 3. Bring the polenta down to a simmer and stir frequently with a wooden spoon (careful! Tends to spit and bubble) until very thick and comes away from the sides- about 30 minutes.  4. Lightly grease a casserole dish or bowl with the vegetable oil (cooking spray works as well). Check to make sure your polenta is fine for seasoning (but keep in mind even if it tastes a little bland that the sauce will add flavor) 5. Spoon the polenta into this dish (it should be impossible to pour easily) , smooth out so you have an even surface, and let sit about 10 minutes.  6. After 10 minutes, divide the portions into four and slice each portion to make nice little pieces (cubes could be a fun change from the norm), place on dishes to prepare to serve.

Black bean sauce:  Open the can of black beans and pour into a saucepan.  Add the tomato paste and 3/4 cup of water. Add the cayenne pepper (I put in about a teaspoon, but I like it hot. Be very careful! A little goes a long way.  You can completely omit this if you like).  Simmer, add flour to thicken if needed. The sauce will be very thin otherwise.  When heated through, spoon on top of the sliced polenta. I usually spoon plenty of liquid on top so that it soaks through the polenta. Yummy!

Suggestions:  For timing, I usually start the sauce about 5 minutes before the polenta will be done (25 minutes into the cooking of the polenta).  You could easily use prepared polenta for this recipe- just lightly oil a frying pan and fry round slices and then top with the black bean sauce.  In addition, you could always fry the sliced polenta if that's what you'd like.  To thicken, if you don't want to use flour, it's possible to puree some (or all) of the black bean sauce. If you decide to do this, please wait for the sauce to cool somewhat (at least 5 to 10 minutes) before you puree. I suggest a somewhat coarse puree so you can still tell you're eating black beans (rather than baby food!). Also, you could coarsely mash some of the beans with a potato masher.  Adding the flour when the sauce is already simmering will cause lumps. I don't worry about it, but if it bothers you, you could always make a roux first with about half a teaspoon of olive oil and the flour (perhaps a little bit more oil- adjust to your desired thickness). If you decide to do this, add the water first and whisk to prevent lumps.  Ideas for additions include: adding chopped onion, omitting the tomato paste and adding salsa instead, adding chopped cilantro, adding a can of chopped or whole tomatoes (you'll want to omit the water if that's the case), and adding grated soy cheese on top.  The possibilities are endless, and I'm sure with a little tweaking this could be a very elegant dish.  This costs approximately 75 cents a head to make and is very filling. I'm not sure of the nutritional content, but I would probably guess around 500 or so calories per serving.

Makes: 4 servings, Preparation time: 35 minutes, Cooking time: 1 hour

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KT22A
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« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2007, 11:06:25 PM »

this was my first time making or eating polenta, and next time I will use a whisk to mix the cornmeal into the water - mine was very lumpy, but tasty.  after I let it set in the casserole dish, I put the pieces in the oven for 10 minutes on each side to toast it a bit.  to the beans, I added sweet potato, mushrooms, green bell pepper, a can of tomatoes, chopped spinach, cumin, and some chipotle chili sauce.  I used a little cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken the sauce up.  I am very pleased with this recipe.  it was fun to make and eat!
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free2be
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« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2007, 08:31:04 PM »

I just made this for my boyfriend and he loves it! I was just wondering, do you have any ideas for seasoning the polenta? Thanks! Grin
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thedeadlyoctopus
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« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2007, 02:11:12 PM »

I just made this for my boyfriend and he loves it! I was just wondering, do you have any ideas for seasoning the polenta? Thanks! Grin

Adding a little bit of salt and pepper never hurt. In any sauce with tomatoes a little bit of fresh basil probably wouldn't go awry. You could also try adding a bit of nutritional yeast/ vegan parmesan, if I'm not mistaken the traditional Italian way of preparing polenta calls for adding a bit on top. If you're going for a more tomato-ey taste, you could add some cut up sun-dried tomatoes. Think of it as a porridge/oatmeal. You can really stick anything in there that you want. The possibilities are endless! Hope this gives you some ideas.

Oh, one last thing, I tend to add a little bit of vegan margarine to add creaminess, but I don't always have that around so it depends. If you're looking for a little bit more robust of a taste from your polenta, you could try adding some of the ingredients above, letting it cool, slicing it, and frying it.

Thanks for the positive reviews! I made this recipe back in high school and now that I revisited it I'm not too impressed, but it's good for a tight budget, which I'm on (yet again!).
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atomikkitty
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« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2007, 09:33:54 PM »

i heart this!  its my go to cheap recipe... i can change it up by adding different veggies/seasonings and its always good!  thanks!
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lobsteriffic
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« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2008, 10:46:12 AM »

I really liked the idea of this recipe. When I made the polenta, I added lots of seasoning (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cilantro, cayenne) and nutritional yeast. I then let it cool in the fridge. I sliced the polenta and baked it on each side. For the topping, I used onion, black beans, chipotle salsa, lots of spices, hot sauce, corn, and bell pepper.
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smbolisnch
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« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2008, 06:27:57 PM »

I wasn't crazy about this. I added corn and a potato to the beans, and while the topping was pretty good, the polenta was just too plain and dense. I liked the topping enough that I think I will make it again and pour it over a baked potato instead.  Smiley
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saveyergeneration
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« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2009, 11:40:52 AM »

I'm not on much for polenta, but this was probably the best way I'd ever eaten it.  I didn't have dry cornmeal and made it with the moistened stuff sliced into coins. Not bad.
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Shiitake
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« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2009, 12:18:09 PM »

I have to agree, this is some good polenta  Thumbs Up
I look forward to the left overs  Thumbs Up
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ladiedreamweaver
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« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2009, 08:42:52 AM »

I made this recipe for my girlfriend who has never had Polenta. It was a huge success!!! I added organic white sweet corn and peppers to make it a Black Bean and Salsa type dish and it turned out great. Great recipe, we will definitely be making this one again!  Thumbs Up
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keital
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« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2009, 11:46:01 AM »

I added a generous amount of Parmesan to the polenta, along with some garlic and onion powder. The whole thing had a nice comfort food taste, and was much better than it looked. :x
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Grindcore Michelle
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« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2009, 04:33:23 PM »

Made this lastnight and cannot wait to make it again! I have never had polenta, and we could not find the dry stuff, so we bought the premade roll. We made a few alterations:

(1) 15oz can of black beans
(1) 4oz can of chopped green chiles
1/4 cup of ketchup [instead of tomato paste and as a sweetener!]
onion powder, salt + pepper to taste

My omnivore husband said this was his favorite vegan recipe yet, so we are both excited to work this dish into our rotation!
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thedeadlyoctopus
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« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2009, 05:41:10 PM »

Thanks everyone for all the kind replies. I wrote this recipe back when vegan parmesan wasn't quite as easy to get, but it would indeed be an excellent addition, as would all these other suggestions. I'm glad you guys like it so much!
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Rx_addictedtobreathing
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« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2009, 07:00:14 PM »

I had a can of open white beans and some corn, so I added that to the bean mix.
I also first sauteed some onions garlic and green peppers before adding the beans.
I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I used some tomato and red wine balsamic vinaigrette sauce + barbecue sauce + garlic chili sauce. I added a bunch of seasonings that I had too...

For the Polenta, to season it, I added a veggie bouillon cube to the boiling water and added garlic powder, minced onion, and some of an Italian herb mix i had in the house. It gave it a great flavor, and I liked eating it by itself.

This was definitely an awesome recipe and my fiance (non veg) enjoyed this as well!   
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erinmonster5
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« Reply #14 on: August 27, 2009, 08:34:37 AM »

With a few additions, this was delicious! Thumbs Up
I cheated and used pre-made polenta - basil flavored - and baked the little circles in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.
As for the black bean sauce, I added onion, roasted red peppers, tons of cayenne, chili powder, a little nutritional yeast, a little cumin, and cornstarch to thicken it up.  I also melted some FYH Nacho Cheese and poured it on top of the crispy polenta.  It was so good! 
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