Millet And Red Pepper Polenta Recipes

MILLET AND RED PEPPER POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, seed and dice roasted peppers. Season with a little salt if desired and set aside.
• Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add millet. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan, until grains begin to pop and smell toasty, sort of like popcorn. Add water or stock and salt.
• Transfer pan to the preheated oven. Set timer for 25 minutes. When it goes off, stir in peppers. Bake for another 20 minutes. Stir in butter and if there is any liquid remaining in the pan, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until millet is thick and no more water or stock is visible in the pan. Remove from oven and stir in Parmesan. Serve right away or allow to cool in the pan, or spread in a small sheet pan, baking dish, or cake pan if desired. When it is solid, cut into squares, slices or rounds, which you can grill, fry, or layer in a gratin.

POLENTA AND VEGETABLES WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a medium-sized heavy saucepan. Add polenta in a stream, whisking to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/3 cup Parmesan and season with cayenne and salt. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Transfer polenta to pie plate, smooth into an even layer and let cool 15 minutes. Heat broiler. Whisk garlic, thyme, lemon juice and oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss vegetables with dressing. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange vegetables in 1 layer (or in 1 layer in a grill basket). Broil vegetables about 4 inches from heat until tender and slightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a platter. Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Sprinkle polenta with remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Broil polenta in pie plate until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, then cut polenta into 8 triangles. Divide polenta among 4 plates. Top with vegetables, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with chives. Serve any remaining sauce on the side.

MILLET POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE, EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant. Cut it into 3/4-inch cubes and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with olive oil. Lay the eggplant on the foil in a single layer. Roast in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cubes are soft when pierced with a knife and browned in spots. They'll look dry on the surface but when you pierce them with a knife you should be able to see that the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and carefully fold the foil up over the eggplant slices (be careful not to burn yourself!). Crimp the edges of the foil so that the eggplant is hermetically sealed in a big foil packet, and allow the eggplant to steam for another 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Begin the polenta. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the millet. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan, until the grains begin to pop and smell sort of like popcorn. Add the water or stock and salt (up to 1 teaspoon, to taste). Transfer the pan to the hot oven. After 25 minutes give the millet a stir and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. There should still be some liquid in the pan. Stir in the butter and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the millet is thick and no more water or stock is visible in the pan.
• While the millet is in the oven make the tomato sauce. Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor so that you have a nice puréed texture. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a wide nonstick skillet or saucepan and add the garlic and thyme. As soon as it begins to smell fragrant (1/2 to 1 minute), add the tomatoes, sugar, eggplant, and salt, stir and turn up the heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered and stirring often, until thick and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and heat through. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasonings.
• When the polenta is done, remove it from the oven and if desired, stir in the Parmesan. Spoon onto plates or wide bowls, make a depression in the middle with the back of your spoon and top with the tomato, eggplant and chickpeas mixture. Garnish with more fresh thyme and Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil if desired, and serve.

ROASTED RED PEPPER POLENTA

Steps:

• To fire-roast the red peppers, place them over a high flame on a stove-top burner and roast, turning occasionally, until the skins turn black on all sides. Place the peppers in a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Peel away the blackened skins from the peppers. Cut away the stems and then seed, core and coarsely chop the peppers. Place them in a food processor and puree until smooth; reserve to the side.
• In a heavy-bottom medium pot, bring 8 cups water, thesalt and the roasted red pepper puree to a boil. Add the stone-ground cornmeal in a gentle stream, whisking or stirring vigorously in the same direction as you pour it in. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes. Cook the polenta for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent it from sticking. When the polenta is thick, glossy and pulling away from the side of the pan, add the Pecorino Romano and butter, stirring quickly to incorporate. Pour the polenta into a medium serving dish and serve immediately.

SOFT POLENTA WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more, until its aroma is released.
• Add the chicken stock, water, and salt to the pan and increase the heat to medium high. When the liquid is simmering, gradually sprinkle the polenta over in a very slow, thin stream, whisking constantly in the same direction until all the grains are incorporated and no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to very low. Switch to a wooden paddle and stir thoroughly every few minutes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and the grains of polenta have softened. Stir in the butter, thyme, pepper, and grated Manchego and remove from the heat. Spoon some polenta into each of 6 warmed shallow soup bowls and top with some of the roasted peppers and chopped cilantro.

RED PEPPER POLENTA WITH GORGONZOLA

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook garlic and bell pepper in oil about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper is crisp-tender.
• Stir in vegetable stock and milk; heat to boiling. Gradually stir in cornmeal and salt; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened.
• Spray 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Pour polenta into pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and polenta is firm enough to cut. Cut into 8 wedges.

POLENTA WITH SALAMI AND ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Place chicken stock or broth and butter into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the polenta and cook, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; cook and stir for 5 more minutes. Check the seasoning, then add salt & pepper to taste.
• Pour equal amounts of mixture into two 8" square cake pans and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Unmold polenta from pans and slice into 1/2" thick slices. Heat slices in a 400 degree oven on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes before serving.

CHICKEN, POLENTA, AND RED PEPPER RAGOûT

Steps:

• Halve leek lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. In a bowl of cold water wash leek well and with a slotted spoon transfer to a sieve to drain. Chop onion and cut bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Mince garlic.
• In a 12-inch non-stick skillet cook leek, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and pepper is tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl. Pat chicken dry and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cut polenta into 3/4-inch cubes.
• In skillet heat remaining tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté chicken, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add polenta and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.
• Stir in cooked vegetables, tomatoes, thyme, and parsley and simmer, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season ragout with salt and pepper.

POLENTA AND GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a medium-sized heavy saucepan. Add polenta, whisking quickly to combine. Reduce heat to a medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick- about 3-5 minutes. Whisk in 1/3 cup Parmesan and season with the cayenne pepper and salt. Coat a 9" pie plate with cooking spray and pour the polenta into the prepared pie plate and smooth out the surface and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat grill (or broiler). Whisk together garlic, thyme, lemon juice, and oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss vegetables with the dressing. Coat a grill basket (or cooking tray) with cooking spray and arrange vegetables. Grill vegetables until tender and slightly charred- about 3-5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a platter.
• Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
• Heat broiler, sprinkle polenta with remaining Parmesan cheese. Broil polenta until golden brown- about 2-3 minutes, then slice into 8 pieces. Divide polenta among 4 plates. Top with vegetable, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with fresh basil.