Thursday, April 29, 2010

Grilled Polenta

I have always liked Polenta, the pleasant texture when you first make it, soft and warm it works so well with so many dishes.  Put it along side meat or with sauteed fresh vegetables on top and it is comfort food personified.  Even better the next day, I like to grill it as a side dish, but really this could have been the center of the plate.   The Polenta was simple.

1 cup polenta
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp fresh oregano minced
1 tsp fresh basil minced
2 green onions
2 cups boiling water

Once water is boiling add the herbs then slowly add the polenta stirring constantly (or you get lumps) have some additional water ready in case it gets too thick,  once it has cooked for a few minutes poor it into a baking pan lined with plastic wrap.  Cover loosely and refrigerate overnight...

I was going to top this with asparagus and tomatoes but the produce store that I go to didn't have asparagus so I served it with grilled tomatoes and baby bok choy.  I sliced a tomato and cut the bok choy in half, and brushed them with olive oil to get them ready.  This is topped with a balsamic reduction, this is the easy part, but it really makes the dish:

1 TBL brown sugar
2 TBL balsamic vinegar

More or less anyway, I didn't measure... depending on the balsamic that you get it could vary greatly... cook until it is reduced by about a third and slightly thickened.  While the vinegar is on the stove brush the polenta with olive oil and grill then add the veggies cook over a low heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side.  That is it absolutely wonderful with the sweet balsamic.

6 comments:

  1. I don't like soft polenta, but I love it when it's crispy on the outside! Yummy!

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  2. Love polenta also, soft, crispy doesn't matter- love the balsamic with the dish Bryan, I bet is was delish!

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  3. I adore polenta but I've never cooked it. It looks easy to make from what I see in your recipe.

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  4. Polenta is so easy to make this was so simple and really was good

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  5. Polenta is delish with an amazing number of toppings, Bryan. I love the way you have served it with bok choy. I made mine pretty much the same way, sans the brown sugar. It's one of my favorite veggies. Good match with crispy polenta!

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  6. This looks great! I love polenta any way - fresh and soft with lots of cheese, fried crisp as croutons in a salad, baked in a casserole. My husband has never been a huge polenta fan, but I bet grilling it might change his mind!

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