Garlicky Polenta Recipes

BAKED POLENTA WITH FRESH TOMATOES AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
• Place the water, milk, and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the polenta and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese and 2 chopped basil leaves; season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the polenta to the prepared baking dish and arrange the remaining chilled pieces of butter over the top.
• Bake the polenta in the preheated oven until bubbly and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• Decoratively arrange the slices of tomato over the top of the polenta, spread the remaining basil leaves over the tomatoes, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Return to the oven and bake until the tomatoes are warm and the Parmesan cheese is bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.

EASY VEGAN POLENTA (SUPER CREAMY!)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.
• Once boiling, add in salt and stir to dissolve, then turn heat to medium.
• While whisking, slowly and continuously pour polenta into your water over the course of about 1 minute. Take it slow! This ensures that there will be no lumps in your cooked polenta.
• Once all of your polenta is in the water, continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Then turn heat down to low and cover. The polenta should be gently bubbling but not fully simmering. Set a timer for 30 minutes and be sure to whisk the polenta every 5 minutes or so to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• After 30 minutes, test your polenta. It should be soft and porridgy, with no lumps or graininess. If you want your polenta slightly thicker, let it cook for another 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat and stir in vegan butter. Taste again and add more salt or butter if you want more savory or salty flavor. Enjoy!
• Polenta is a great base for sautéed veggies like asparagus or wilted greens, or with roasted garlic and baby tomatoes. Optionally, garnish with fresh basil or parsley, vegan parmesan, and/or more vegan butter.
• Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding more water and/or vegan butter as needed to rehydrate. Or, save leftovers for making polenta fries!

ROASTED GARLIC POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• Line a casserole dish with plastic wrap and set aside.
• 2. Preheat a large heavy bottom pot on medium-low heat. Add the butter, onion and garlic and sauté until nicely browned, stirring occasionally.
• Once brown, add the milk and water and turn the heat up to bring to a boil. Keep a close eye on the pot as milk loves to boil over and make a huge mess.
• Just as the milk reaches a boil, reduce heat to medium-low again and using a whisk, slowly stir in the corn meal. Make sure the corn meal is evenly distributed and there is no clumping.
• Season with salt, cumin and paprika and then cook for about 15 minutes. Make sure to give a good stir with a wooden spoon every 5 minutes or so and check that its not burning on the bottom.
• Once the polenta is soft and cooked, its time to stir in the parmesan cheese. Go with fresh grated Parmesano Reggiano if you can.
• Now pour the warm polenta into the plastic lined casserole dish and spread out and compact in an even layer with a wet spatula (so it does not stick) and place in the fridge to cool.
• After 2 hours or so, you can remove the polenta from the dish by lifting the plastic wrap. Place on a cutting board and cut into desired shape. Square, rectangle, circle with a cookie cutter, half moon etc.
• Fry cakes until warm and browned with a little butter in a preheated fry pan on medium heat. Serve as an appy or as part of dinner.

ROASTED GARLIC POLENTA

Steps:

• In a heavy bottom pot, bring 5 cups of water and sea salt to a boil. Mix together the remaining 3 1/2 cups of water and corn grits in a bowl. When the pot of water comes to a boil, add the cornmeal mixture and stir quickly and continuously until the entire mixture is well blended. Add the roasted garlic paste. Reduce the heat so that the polenta is at a low simmer, stirring frequently. Continue to do so until the polenta pulls away from the pot (about 35 minutes). Pour the polenta into a baking sheet to cool. Cut into desired shape (squares for the Napoleon) and pan fry in olive oil until golden in color.
• To build the Polenta Napoleon:
• Place a bed of smoky greens on the plate and top with a polenta square. Top the square with a ladle of rosemary-scented white beans. Top the beans with another polenta square. Decorate the plate with roasted carrot sauce.

CREAMY PARMESAN GARLIC POLENTA

Steps:

• 1 In a medium-large pot melt the butter over medium high heat until the foam subsides. Add the garlic. Cook for a minute. Add the broth. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
• 2. Slowly sprinkle in the polenta, whisking as you pour. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 20 to 25 minutes stirring frequently until the polenta is thickened and soft to taste.
• 3. Turn off heat and stir in pepper and parmesan. Serve immediately or pour into a 9x13 inch pan to set. Once cool, cut polenta into squares.

POLENTA WITH GARLIC AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• In a deep-sided, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, bring the stock to a boil. Rain in the polenta, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring, making sure to get deep into the corners of the pan.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring almost constantly until very thick, about 40 minutes. If the polenta begins to sputter or stick to the pan, reduce the heat to low.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil, and then add the 6 tablespoons of butter.
• When the oil starts to fizz, add half of the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until soft and honey-colored, about 8 to 10 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, turn them once.
• Once cooked, using kitchen tongs, move them to a dish and repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Don't wash the skillet just yet.
• Stir in the 6 tablespoons of melted butter, the cream, and the Parmesan into the polenta, and then pour in enough boiling water to give a soft texture that will fall easily from the spoon.
• Set the skillet used for the mushrooms over medium-low heat, and toss in the garlic, letting it brown lightly in the leftover butter, about 1 minute.
• Return the mushrooms to the skillet, add the chopped parsley and sage, if using, and cook just until everything is heated through.
• Spoon the polenta into a serving dish, top with the mushrooms and garlic, and serve.

BAKED POLENTA WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2-quart soufflé dish. Bring first 6 ingredients to boil in heavy large saucepan. Gradually add cornmeal, whisking until smooth. Reduce heat to low; cook until cornmeal is very soft and mixture is thick and creamy, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Season with pepper.
• Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over polenta. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and chill.)
• Bake polenta until heated through and golden on top, about 30 minutes.

GARLICKY POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until melted, then add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and add the polenta, whisking. Cook, stirring regularly, until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan, heavy cream, chives and pepper and stir to combine. Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN WITH CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Polenta
• Preheat the oven to 350° F
• In an oven-proof bowl, add one cup of cornmeal and water. (For firm polenta, use 4 cups water; for soft polenta, use 5 cups water)
• Add a strong pinch of kosher salt, a grind or two of black pepper, a tablespoon or two of butter, the Parmesan cheese, and give it a stir
• Cook 30 minutes and stir again
• Cook 15+ minutes, or until nearly all the liquid is absorbed and stir it again
• Roast the Garlic
• Preheat the oven to 425° F
• Wrap the heads of garlic together in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet
• Roast for ~ 30-35 minutes
• Honey-Garlic Chicken
• While the garlic roasts prep 5-6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• To maximize crispiness, pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, before seasoning the outsides with kosher salt, a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper, and coat the skin sides with a little bit of olive oil
• Thinly slice the white ends of the scallions
• Slice the wider green ends and set them aside to be a garnish
• Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast-iron if you have it) over low to medium heat.
• Place the oil-coated skin sides of the chicken thighs down into the pan, and let them cook for ~ 5 minutes until the rendered fat from the chicken begins to cover the bottom of the pan
• Raise the heat to medium-high and readjust the chicken thighs so they're sitting in the fat
• Cook the skin side of the thighs until they're deeply browned and crispy (~ 10 minutes)
• Turn off the heat, flip the thighs onto their uncooked side, and throw in the sliced white ends of the scallions
• Take the roasted bulbs of garlic out of the oven and let them cool 5 or 10 minutes before squeezing the now-soft cloves into a bowl
• Mash the cloves into a paste with a spoon, and squeeze about ½ cup of honey over the top. Mix the two with a spoon.
• Spread the garlic-honey blend on top of the chicken thighs (which are still in the pan). Don't go crazy. A light layer will do, and you'll need to save some for your pan sauce
• Throw the skillet into your oven (which is still at 425°), and cook the thighs until the honey caramelizes and the chicken is cooked through to 165° (~ 15 minutes)
• Move the thighs from the skillet onto a plate and place the skillet back on the stovetop over medium heat
• Garliky Pan Sauce
• Melt 3 -4 Tbsp of butter in the pan
• Add the remaining honey-garlic blend, along with a couple of glugs of white wine vinegar
• Stir to incorporate it all into a sauce and also to remove the crispy chicken bits from the bottom of the pan. (This will only take a couple of minutes, no need to bring this to a simmer)
• Finish and Serve
• Scoop some creamy polenta into a bowl, load up a chicken thigh, give the whole thing a nice spoonful of sauce.
• Top it all with pepper, flaky sea salt, and sliced green scallions

POLENTA WITH GARLICKY GREENS-

Steps:

• Cut off and discard bottom 3 inches of Swiss-chard stems.
• Cut remaining stems into 1/2-inch slices; coarsely chop leaves.
• Rinse and dry stems and leaves separately; place in separate bowls.
• In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper over medium heat about 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly golden, stirring constantly.
• Increase heat to medium-high; add sliced chard stems to skillet and cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Gradually add chard leaves and 1/2 teaspoons.
• salt, stirring until leaves wilt; stir in 1/3 cup water.
• Cover skillet and simmer 5 minutes or until stems and leaves are tender; stir in raisins and set aside.
• Meanwhile, prepare polenta in microwave oven: In 4-quart microwave-safe bowl or casserole, combine cornmeal, 3/4 teaspoons salt, milk, and 4 1/2 ups water.
• Cover and cook on High 12 to 15 minutes, until thickened, stirring once.
• To serve, stir Parmesan into polenta.
• Spoon polenta on a platter; top with Swiss-chard mixture and sprinkle with pine nuts.
• Serve with additional Parmesan to sprinkle over each serving if you like.
• Makes 4 main dish servings.
• Note: If you like, polenta can be prepared on top of stove: In 4-quart saucepan, stir 1 teaspoons salt with 2 cups cold milk.
• Gradually whisk in cornmeal until blended,then whisk in 4 1/2 cups boiling water.
• Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered, 20 minutes, stirring frequently.