Elegant Tri Colored Polenta Recipes

ELEGANT TRI-COLORED POLENTA

Steps:

• Saute 2/3 of the garlic (4 cloves) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until just golden.
• Add chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Reserve.
• Arrange spinach, while still wet from washing, in a large skillet and sprinkle with salt.
• Place over moderate heat and cook until spinach is completely wilted.
• Drain thoroughly of all excess water and chop coarsley.
• Saute spinach with remaining garlic (2 cloves) in 2 tablespoons olive oil and reserve.
• Saute leeks in 2 tablespoons olive oil over low heat until golden.
• Reserve.
• Combine goat cheese, yogurt and thyme in a bowl and blend until creamy and spreadable.
• Reserve.
• Dissolve 2 teaspoons salt in water in a large pot (preferably not too deep).
• Stir in cornmeal with a wire wisk and place over moderate heat.
• Continue stirring constantly with the whisk until cornmeal begins to thicken, then change to a wooden spoon.
• Polenta is done when it pulls away from the sides of the pan (about 15 minutes).
• Place 2/3 of the polenta in a bowl.
• Add 1 cup of the tomatoes.
• Add spinach to the remaining 1/3 of the polenta.
• Spread half the tomato-polenta mixture on the bottom of a lightly oiled 9 inch spring-form cake pan.
• Spread 1/2 of the goat cheese mixture over the tomato-polenta, then spread half of the leeks next.
• Continue layering the spinach-polenta mixture, the remaining goat cheese mixture and the remaining leeks.
• Top with the remaining tomato-polenta mixture.
• Bake in a 450º oven for 25 minutes.
• Allow to stand at least 10 minutes before removing spring-form ring.
• Cut in wedges and serve with remaining tomato sauce.

BAKED POLENTA WITH RICOTTA AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Soak polenta in cold water for 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain polenta, then place in a heavy-bottomed pot or ovenproof baking dish. Add salt and 4 cups water.
• Place pot in oven, cover, and bake for 45 minutes. (The polenta will begin to simmer and absorb water after a few minutes. No need to stir.)
• After 45 minutes, uncover and stir in the olive oil, ricotta and Parmesan, but don't overmix. Some of the ricotta should remain in big blobs. The mixture may be a bit soupy at this point, but will thicken as it continues to cook. Bake, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until top has browned. Finish with a generous amount of pepper.

CHEF JOHN'S THREE CORN POLENTA

Steps:

• Melt 1 teaspoon butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir 2/3 of the corn, with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper in the hot butter and oil until the corn is fragrant and golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Pour 2 cups water into corn mixture; bring to a simmer and whisk polenta into mixture. Bring to a simmer again, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick and polenta absorbs the water, 20 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup water and stir; cook for until water is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes more.
• Stir remaining corn and 1 teaspoon butter into polenta mixture. Remove from heat, cover the pot, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

GEFILTE FISH WITH TRI-COLORED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Defrost gefilte fish loaf just enough so you are able to unwrap it. Unwrap and place in 9 x 13 pan.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat oil in skillet. Fry onion until soft and then add peppers and continuing frying until everything is tender.
• Add ketchup, garlic powder and black pepper.
• Stir well.
• Pour pepper mixture over gefilte fish loaf. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
• Serve warm or cold!

POLENTA TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Bring stock or water, milk, and herbs, if using, to a boil in a small, deep saucepan over medium heat. Lower heat, and slowly sprinkle in cornmeal, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes over low heat. If polenta becomes too thick, add as much as 1 more cup of boiling liquid. Polenta should resemble a thick porridge. Add salt to taste. Stir in butter.
• Pour polenta onto a 9-by-13-by-1/2-inch baking sheet, and smooth out. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate until firm or overnight.
• Cut polenta into 8 triangles, and saute in butter in a nonstick skillet, or grill until heated and brown on both sides.

FRIED POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a 1 to 1 1/2 quart oven-safe container, stir together water, salt, pepper, and polenta
• Add butter to the mixture, cut up in chunks.
• Place container, uncovered, in center rack of oven and bake 40 minutes.
• Open oven, pull out rack, add parmesan, and any other ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, olives, lemon zest, herbs, shallots, cilantro etc. and let bake another 10 minutes.
• Pull out of oven and let rest in refrigerator 20 minutes to over-night.
• In frying pan, on medium-high, heat oil.
• Spoon about half a cup of polenta into the pan at a time, fry until golden brown on each side.
• Let cakes rest about 3-5 minutes and serve.

QUICK POLENTA ROUNDS WITH SAGE BUTTER AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Spray or spread cooking oil on the bottom and sides of a broiler-safe baking dish.
• Cut polenta in 1/4" thick disks. Place these disks on the bottom of the greased baking dish, overlapping them slightly so that there is no space in between disks.
• Sprinkle cheese evenly across the polenta.
• In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add olive oil. When the butter/oil mixture is fully heated, immediately add sage, stirring constantly. Cook for no more than 30 seconds.
• Add chopped garlic and sauté very briefly, until garlic starts to perfume the oil but has not yet browned. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and drizzle over polenta.
• Broil for 3-5 minutes.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE

Steps:

• In medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add 1 cup cream, milk and salt. Bring to a low simmer. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. , Pour polenta into a 3-quart slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Cook, covered, on low for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 1/3 cup. Just before serving, stir cheese and the remaining cream and butter into polenta. To serve, drizzle with balsamic glaze.

POLENTA PARMESAN

Steps:

• Gradually add cornmeal to the salted boiling water, stirring frequently so there are no lumps.
• When it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium, cook stirring frequently for 40 minutes.
• Stir in 5 oz of butter, 4oz grated parmesan and nutmeg.
• Pour polenta in an oven-proof pan cover with waxed paper and set aside to cool.
• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Dot with remaining butter and parmesan.
• Bake for 30 minutes until top is brown and crispy.