Table Talk - Creamy Polenta with Tomatoes, Squash & Fresh Mozzarella

It was my turn to host this week.  I spent some time flipping through the cookbook and found this section with lots of variations of creamy polenta.  I liked the idea of making polenta.  When I was first married and got into cooking (and the cooking channel) I kept finding these recipes that called for polenta.  But at that time the stores in North Ogden didn't have polenta.  I knew it was cooked corn meal but I had no idea how to fix it.  Plus if I remember correctly I couldn't even find corn meal.  So I've always wanted to know how to make it.

I started by prepping all the ingredients.  There's a bit of knife work with this recipe.

The recipe suggests starting the polenta while cooking the vegtables.  But since I wanted to get pictures and the polenta had a lot of stirring I decided to do all the veggies first and then make the polenta. 

I cooked the squash & zucchini in two batches as directed.  Although I thought about doing it all at once.  But I think I wouldn't have gotten any of the carmalization - it would have just steamed.

I set the cooked squash aside and cooked the onions.

 I added the garlic and a little bit of dried thyme (I didn't buy any fresh).  Then added the cherry tomatoes.

I set that aside while I made the polenta.  I found corn meal in the grocery store but I couldn't find anything that told me if it was course-ground. 

 

The polenta was pretty simple.  The only problem I had was getting the corn meal to come out of the measuring cup slowly.  It came out in big clumps and I eneded up with lumpy polenta just like the recipe warns.  I got most of the lumps to mix out but a few were left.  There was no problem with the flavor but the texture wasn't so hot.  The other thing I had no idea about was how to tell it was soft and smooth, so I just cooked it for 10 minutes before taking it off the heat and adding the butter and parmesan.



Then it was just a matter of assembling the dish, polenta, the veggies, a sprinkle of parmesan, chilled fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. 



I tried to get a beauty shot but I'm no good at that.  I can tell you that it was pretty tasty and pretty easy.  I'm going to have to work on a better way to add the polenta slowly to the boiling water but otherwise it was very good. 

Creamy Polenta with Tomatoes, Squash & Fresh Mozzarella

SERVES 4

Don’t skip the step of freezing the mozzarella; it prevents the cheese from turning chewy when it comes in contact with the hot polenta and vegetables.  However, if you can find handmade buffalo- or cow’s-milk mozzarella, use it here; this fancy type of cheese does not require freezing.  To save time, start the polenta before cooking the squash in step 2.

4  ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes (see note above)

2  zucchini (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch thick

1  yellow squash (about 8 ounces), halved lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch thick

1  tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

1  onion, minced

6  garlic cloves, minced

1  teaspoon minced fresh thyme

3  cups cherry tomatoes (about 1 pound), stemmed and halved if small or quartered if large

1  recipe Creamy Polenta, warm

2  tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

½  cup chopped fresh basil

1.  Place the mozzarella on a plate and freeze until slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

2.  Toss the zucchini and yellow squash together in a bowl.  Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add half of the zucchini and squash and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until spotty brown and tender, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and repeat with 1 teaspoon more oil, the remaining zucchini and squash, and ¼ teaspoon more salt.

3.  Add the remaining teaspoon oil to the pot and return to medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4.  Stir in the tomatoes and cooked zucchini and squash and cook until the tomatoes are just softened, 1 to 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Portion the polenta into four individual bowls and top with the tomato-zucchini mixture.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan, chilled mozzarella, and basil and serve.

CREAMY POLENTA

MAKES 4 cups

Do not use instant polenta here.  You can substitute medium or coarse cornmeal for the polenta as long as it is evenly ground; do not use stone-ground cornmeal meal.  If you do not have a heavy-bottomed saucepan; you may need to use a flame tamer to help manage heat.

4  cups water

  Salt and Pepper

1  cup coarse-ground polenta (see note above)

6  tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1  tablespoon unsalted butter

1.  Bring the water and ¼ teaspoon salt to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Following the photo on page 164, slowly add the polenta while stirring constantly in a circular motion to prevent clumping.

2.  Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, then cover and reduce the heat to low.  Cook, stirring often and vigorously (make sure to scrape the corners of the pot), until the polenta becomes soft and smooth, 10 to 20 minutes.  Off the heat, vigorously stir in the Parmesan and butter.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

PER SERVING (1 cup polenta and 1-1/2 cups topping); Cal  360; Fat 16g; Sat Fat 8g; Chol 35mg; Carb 42g; Protein 14g; Fiber 6g; Sodium 460mg