Polenta Pizzas With Roasted Tomatoes And Olives Recipes

POLENTA WITH ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large ovenproof skillet. Roast in the oven until the tomatoes are charred around the edges, about 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 but keep the tomatoes inside.
• Meanwhile, bring 5 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the polenta until smooth and creamy. Add 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Slice the chard leaves into wide strips and the stems into 1-inch pieces. Boil the stems until almost tender, about 5 minutes, then add the leaves and cook until both are tender, about 3 more minutes. Drain the chard.
• Remove the skillet from the oven and place over medium-high heat. Push the tomatoes to one side, add the butter and swirl until the butter is golden brown. Add the chard and toss to coat. Divide the polenta among 4 bowls. Top with the tomatoes and chard. Season the cheese with salt and sprinkle over the top.

POLENTA PIZZAS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Line 15x10-inch rimmed baking sheet with foil. Combine 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil. Gradually add polenta, whisking until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until polenta thickens and pulls away from sides of pan, whisking frequently, about 30 minutes for polenta and 15 minutes for yellow cornmeal. Whisk in butter and 1 teaspoon oregano. Pour out polenta onto prepared baking sheet; spread evenly to edges of sheet. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange tomato slices in single layer on prepared sheet. Sprinkle tomatoes with 1/2 teaspoon sugar, then some salt. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Roast until tomatoes are tender but sides are firm and slices still hold together, about 2 hours. Cool. (Polenta and tomatoes can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.)
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out 24 rounds from polenta. Place rounds in single layer on prepared sheet. Top each round with 1 tomato slice. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon oregano. Top each with 2 or 3 olive halves. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Bake polenta pizzas until heated through and cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

CRISP PARMESAN, OLIVE & SUNDRIED TOMATO POLENTA BITES

Steps:

• Pour the stock into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the polenta, and stir continuously over a medium heat for 3-4 mins until thickened and just coming away from the edges of the pan. Add the olives, tomatoes, oil and most of the parmesan, and stir for a further minute until well combined. Season.
• Spoon the polenta mixture onto a lined swiss roll tray or baking sheet. Place another sheet of baking parchment on top and roll out to 1cm thick, then remove the top sheet of parchment and scatter with the remaining parmesan. Leave the polenta to cool at room temperature for 1 hr to set. Alternatively, if you're making it ahead, leave to cool and chill for several hours or overnight.
• Once the polenta has set, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut or stamp the polenta sheet into shapes of your choice, and arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and crisp, and serve warm. Will keep for up to a day in the fridge.

BAKED POLENTA WITH SICILIAN PEPERONATA AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Brush both sides of polenta slices with 1 tablespoon olive oil and arrange on prepared sheet. Bake until polenta is crusty, turning over after 7 minutes, about 14 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and vinegar and cook until tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes. Add roasted peppers, olives and basil and simmer 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Arrange polenta on plates. Spoon sauce over and serve.

POLENTA MINI PIZZAS

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Heat olive oil on griddle or in frying pan on medium/medium high.
• Slice polenta into six 1/2 inch rounds.
• Fry polenta according to package directions. If there are no directions for frying, fry 5 minutes per side.
• Remove from griddle/pan, and place on a baking sheet. Prepare each slice like you would a pizza, layering 1 tablespoon pasta sauce, a basil leaf, 1 tablespoon ricotta, then 1 teaspoon parmesan. Broil 2-4 minutes until lightly browned.
• Note: Be careful when removing from the oven, especially if you're using a flat baking sheet. The polenta likes to slide around! Serve.

PIZZA WITH TOMATOES, ONIONS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Core tomatoes, then cut in half horizontally. Gently squeeze out liquid and shake out most seeds, then slice tomatoes as thin as possible. Salt lightly and let sit at least 10 minutes, then drain off any excess liquid.
• Top pizza rounds on baking sheet with tomatoes, onions, olives and a little olive oil. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until nicely browned.

TOMATO POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Puree tomatoes with their juice; strain. Place liquid in a large saucepan with the water, bring to a boil, and add salt. Slowly sprinkle in polenta, whisking constantly.
• When all the polenta has been added, turn heat down to low and cook, stirring very frequently, for 30 minutes. Stir in pepper and Parmesan.
• Pour into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan and smooth with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours.
• Turn polenta out onto a board. Cut into 2-inch squares. Cut each square in half to form 2 triangles. Set aside.
• Cut mushroom into 1/2-inch dice. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and garlic,; cook until lightly browned. Add mushrooms. Keep warm, or reheat when ready to use.
• Puree olives with remaining tablespoon of oil and stir into mushrooms. Keep warm, or reheat when ready to use.
• Heat a large saute pan and add a scant teaspoon each of oil and butter. Saute polenta triangles for about 2 minutes on each side and briefly on the edges. Add more oil and butter for each batch. Serve hot with a heaping teaspoon of the mushroom mixture on each triangle.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES & OLIVES OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• To prepare chicken, On waxed paper, combine flour, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt; Coat chicken legs.
• In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot.
• Add legs and cook 10 to 12 minutes until browned, turning over once.
• Transfer to plate.
• To drippings in skillet; Add onion and cook 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.
• Add wine; boil 2 minutes or until reduced by half.
• Add tomatoes with the juice, olives, lemon peel, 6 thyme sprigs and remaining salt.
• Return legs with any juices to skillet, stirring to coat.
• Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes or just until juices run clear when the thickest part of the leg is pierced with a knife.
• Meanwhile, prepare Soft Polenta: In a 3-quart saucepan, heat milk and broth to boiling over high heat.
• Reduce heat to low; Gradually whisk in cornmeal.
• Cook 10 minutes or until mixrure is very thick, stir occasionally.
• Remove saucepan from heat; stir in butter and pepper.
• Remove lemon peel and thyme sprigs from chicken mixture.
• Spoon polenta on to plates; top with a chicken leg and some sauce.
• Garnish with remaining thyme sprigs.
• Enjoy.

SAUTEED POLENTA WITH ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• For the polenta: Bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil over high heat in a medium (6-quart) heavy-bottom pot. Bring remaining 4 cups water to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan.
• Gradually add polenta to the large pot while whisking constantly. Switch to a wooden spoon once mixed in with no lumps. Cook until cornmeal has absorbed all of the water, about 3 minutes. Lower heat until only one or two large bubbles break the surface at a time (over medium-low or low, adjusting heat as necessary).
• Stir 2 ladles of simmering water into polenta and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until water has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Continue to add 2 ladles of water every 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent polenta from scorching and waiting for it to be absorbed before adding more, until polenta is creamy and just pulls away from sides of pot, about 45 minutes. (It may be necessary to adjust heat.)
• Stir in butter and season with pepper. Use a damp spoon or ladle to transfer polenta to a parchment-lined small rimmed baking sheet and chill until firm.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees for the tomatoes.
• Make the tomatoes: In a shallow baking dish, combine garlic, tarragon, sugar, vinegar, and oil. Add tomatoes and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and bake until soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• To finish: Invert chilled polenta onto work surface and remove parchment paper. Trim edges and cut polenta into 4 inch squares. Cut squares in half on the diagonal to form triangles. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saute pan. Sear triangles on each side until light golden, about 2 minutes per side. Serve polenta with roasted tomatoes and fresh ricotta. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and sprinkle with fleur de sel.