Grilled Rosemary Garlic Polenta
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 red onion, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary, ground in spice grinder
dash cayenne
salt, to taste
3 3/4 cups low sodium broth
1 cup coarse corn meal
1/2 cup nondairy milk, optional
1. Grease a casserole dish. In a large pot, bring onions to a simmer in the oil and let them cook until they are sweating. Stir in the garlic. When fragrant, add ground seasonings. Be conservative with the cayenne as it heats up any dish fast!
2. Stir seasonings around for 20 seconds until a little toasted. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Cascade in the cornmeal while whisking quickly and reduce heat to medium. Stir the polenta very well every few minutes. It should be at most gently bubbling.
3. It will take about 30 minutes for it to congeal nicely. If it looks a little dry, add a little water. If desired, right before it's done, add the nondairy milk for extra creaminess. You can scoop up a little in a spoon, and if after a minute it is pretty gelatinous, not mushy, then it's done.
4. Pour molten polenta into prepared casserole dish and let refrigerate at least an hour before working with it. After chilling, cut polenta into pretty firm squares.
5. Fire up your George Foreman grill, panini press or skillet and grill squares until top and bottom are crispy. If you use a pan, you shouldn't need to use extra oil since there is enough in it already.
It goes great with gazpacho or a cool bean salad. Polenta is like corn bread, only so much better! Nothing dry here. Home made polenta is involved, but easy and so much better than those store bought tubes. Happy cooking!
Source of recipe: I wrote this.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I loved this! :)>>> At first I thought the dried rosemary and garlic would be to over powering, but it was not at all! I did add 1/2 tsp. dried basil and 2 tsp. nutritional yeast , as I use to add parm cheese to my polenta before going vegan. I paired this with my Tuscan style bean dish and steamed carrots. Very filling delicious dish. Will defiantly make again. Thank you for sharing.
Okay, so it ended up being more like a firm pudding when I was expecting something like what you get at the store-- is that normal? will it still hold together when I grill it, or should I cook it longer next time? Thanks :)
Hmmm, I've never had mine turn out pudding-like but I can think of 3 things that may firm it up next time: cook for longer, cook hotter, and reserve some of the water and add it only when you feel it's needed. I don't see any harm in trying to grill in on something like a panini press as long as the top isn't down (that might smoosh it since it is soft) then you can get it a little crispy, but I wouldn't put in on an out door grill. If I had some soft polenta I would probably leave it in the dish, spread some seasoned beans over it, sprinkle some vegan cheese and diced tomatoes, bake it and make a fabulous Mexican casserole. I hope some of that helps!
Okay, so it ended up being more like a firm pudding when I was expecting something like what you get at the store-- is that normal? will it still hold together when I grill it, or should I cook it longer next time? Thanks :)
I kept taking tastes with a spoon and I can tell, even before I've grilled it, that this is going to be delicious. I keep walking into the kitchen and shouting "set, damn you!" because it's been a little over 2 hours and the pan is still slightly warm and the polenta is not ready for cooking yet. Might have to wait till tomorrow for a bite.