If someone tells you “Lets eat some Italian food”, apart from getting excited, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it pasta? or perhaps pizza? How about a dish a lot less common but delicious for the colder autumn and winter months? You need to try this Roasted Vegetable Polenta, which will become your first option when someone suggests Italian.
Polenta originates from the north of Italy. It is a porridge usually made from coarsely ground cornmeal. Polenta can be a delicious side dish. However, if you add toppings to it then it becomes an amazing warm meal.
How to make fool-proof Polenta:
There are two things to consider when making polenta. Do you want a thicker polenta or a very airy and creamy? Both are good, it just depends on preference.
For a thicker polenta:
Use 4:1 liquid to polenta ratio. For this recipe, we used vegetable broth instead of water.
Procedure: Add 4 cups of broth to a stove pan and once boiling, add 1 cup of polenta and mix well. Cover the pan, lower the heat and let cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Once you have reached desired consistency, add 3-4 tbs of butter and about 1/2 cup freshly shredded pecorino Romano cheese. Optional: Add to an oven pan and bake for solid polenta.
For a Light and Creamy Polenta:
Same cooking method with a few exceptions.
- Grind the polenta before cooking using a food processor.
- Before adding the polenta to the boiling liquid, pass it through a strainer.
- 5:1 liquid ratio (instead of 4:1) and if you would like it very creamy: a tip is to do 2 parts milk, 3 parts broth.
- No need to bake after cooking.
How to Serve perfect Polenta:
Vegetables + Cheese + Sauce. The mixture of these last three will make your polenta out-of-this-world-extraordinary.
The roasted vegetables:
The easiest way to make vegetables for Polenta is to roast them. Cut your vegetables into bite-size pieces, toss them with olive oil and spices/herbs. Tip: Salt, pepper, fresh thyme and basil. Bake the vegetables in the oven for about 20 minutes and you will have the most delicious topping for your polenta.
The Sauce:
Polenta is best with a sauce to add flavour. For this Roasted Vegetable Polenta, cherry tomatoes was added to the vegetable tray. After they were cooked, they released juices that mixed with the olive oil, spices and herbs, they transformed into a delicious sauce. Incredibly easy.
The Cheese (Final step for the Roasted Vegetable Polenta):
Add a mixture of pecorino Romano and parmesan cheese to the polenta to make it creamy, cheesy and delicious. Mix the cheese into the polenta and just before serving, shred a little extra on the top. So decadent.
FINALLY,
I hope you enjoyed this Roasted Vegetable Polenta (Vegetarian)! Let me know if you decide to try it out and don’t forget to send me your #Lifestylemartina creations.
DID YOU LIKE THE Roasted Vegetable Polenta? HERE ARE OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
THE PERFECT LOW CARB DINNER: ZUCCHINI LASAGNA
Spanish Serrano Ham & Melon Salad
My goal is to get you to cook and experiment in the kitchen, even if you are not an expert. If you would like to get to know me more, follow me on instagram : Lifestylemartina . You will read daily tips, quick recipes, personal content and pictures of my travel experiences. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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Roasted Vegetable Polenta (Vegetarian)
Ingredients
- 1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup shredded pecorino romano cheese extra for serving
- 3-4 tbs butter
- 1 zucchini
- 1 Yellow bell pepper
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 100 grams sliced mushrooms
- 200 grams Cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbs olive oil
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh basil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
- Cut the zucchini and peppers into bite sized pieces and add to a bowl. Add the cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper and mix.
- Add the vegetable mixture into an oven pan and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.
- While the vegetables are in the oven, bring the broth to a boil on a stove pan.
- Once broth is boiling, add the cornmeal. Mix well, cover and lower the heat. Let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once cooked, add butter and 1/2 cup of cheese and mix.
- To serve, add the polenta to a plate. Top with cooked vegetables, adding the leftover juices of the vegetables with a spoon. Decorate with extra shredded cheese and basil.
Martina is a trained and experienced chef. She has worked as a Chef in multiple restaurants in the Netherlands. Currently, she works as a Marketing Manager for a Start-up in The Hague. In her spare time, she cooks and bakes delicious recipes to host friends and shares all of her best recipes and tips through her blogs.
