Sunday, January 31, 2010

New Food Venture: Polenta




I've always been curious about polenta. I actually bought a box last June, and have waited until now to even think of using it. I really liked the idea of making polenta but when it came down to it, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. I've only ever had it at restaurants, and typically find it a bit bland for my taste. There are only a handful of times that I can recall ordering a dish with polenta and truly being "wowed". Of these seemingly rare occurrences, the polenta was well seasoned, had cheese incorporated into it and was either seared or baked. After going through a copious amount of recipes I finally discovered an interesting "polenta tart" recipe on the Whole Food's website. It was exactly what I was looking for, not to mention I'd be killing two birds with one stone by checking both "polenta" and "tart" off of my New Food Ventures List for 2010.

It was fantastic and so filling! Not to mention that I got quite the arm work out from stirring the polenta for almost 10 minutes! The base tasted slightly similar to corn bread, and was both dense and moist. The Parmesan cheese I incorporated in the batter was a nice touch, and brought out a sweet note in the cornmeal. To finish, I topped it with goat cheese, baby heirloom tomatoes, caramelized onions and basil. It was a refreshing combination, that felt both luxurious and healthy, what a treat! I couldn't believe that I made this stunner!

Until Next Time,

Nora

2 comments:

  1. Dear Breadcheesewine, this was a pleasure to read about cooking polenta and how good it made you feel when you were very satisfied with the results! I really like that you also described how it tasted, which helps for someone who has not tried it before. I was scrolling through your other posts and thought OMG! Incredible presentation. Loved your site, very professional. Photos were crisp and clear. I shall be back for a bite of more.
    Thank you for sharing.
    Cheers, Gaby
    You can visit me at http://ptsaldari.posterous.com

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