Aug 27, 2012

Grilled Polenta

Made these a couple of days ago and it was seriously the best idea ever.

I was looking through my new vegan cookbook Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin - one of my favorites- and I came across this awesome recipe for grilled polenta. This book has such great pictures that everything in it just looks amazing.

This recipe was very easy to make, the grill marks came out perfect, and it was very tasty-  polenta can be bland sometimes. Another great thing about this recipe is that, once the polenta squares are grilled and ready, they can be stored in the freezer, wrapped individually, and can be microwaved anytime. I thought it was very practical and it's a great idea to make on weekends and eat during the week when I'm super busy.

Soooooooo, here it goes:

Ingredients
- Nonstick Cooking Spray
- 3 cups Water
- 1 1/2 cups Cornmeal for Polenta
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper minced
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp minced Fresh Chives
- 2 tp Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Pepper
- Olive Oil for brushing

Spray casserole dish (9x9) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add the polenta. Whisk mixture until it starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, olive oil, chives, salt, and pepper. Continue to stir until polenta is very thick, 3-5 minutes more.
Pour polenta into the oiled casserole and smooth it over making it flat and even. Ideally the polenta will be 3/4 inch-thick. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes. (Can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated.)
Cut polenta unto squares and brush with oil on both sides (I didn't do this, I just lightly sprayed the grill when it was hot, right before I placed the squares on it, and then again right before turning them over.) Grill the polenta squares for about 3 minutes (Mine took a little longer, maybe because I used a grill pan instead of a grill.

Makes 18 small  polenta triangles; serves 8