Review: Polenta with Red Peppers and Fontina Cheese, August '01/May 1997

[KValley]

I was determined, despite (or perhaps in spite of) the heat, to make this by roasting my own tomatoes and making my own polenta. I did all of the prep work this morning while it was cool, so this evening I had only to assemble and bake.

While the polenta dish was baking, I made a Sautéed Mixed Greens with Olives and Ricotta Salata from the September '01 issue of Food and Wine.

I loved the polenta dish- it was beautiful to look at and even more scrumptious to eat. Our plates looked like the Italian flag- white plates, red peppers/tomatoes, and dark green from the wilted kale, escarole, spinach. The wilted greens were sharp and tangy and went great with the sweeter polenta dish.

Homemade polenta is SOOOO easy and so much tastier than the rubbery tube version- it firmed up nicely in the fridge and I simply cut it into squares.

[Robyncz]

I had bought the ingredients to prepare this for a vegetarian guest, but when our plans fell through, I almost didn't make the dish. Boy and I glad I did. The whole family *LOVED* it! It was very easy to make and much more flavorful than we expected. The flavors of the roasted red peppers and the melted fontina cheese melded together beautifully. This one's going to be a standard in our house!

[beacooker]

I made this for dinner earlier this week. When I ate it that night (DH wasn't around that night), I thought it was OK. However, I took the leftovers to work for lunch the rest of this week, I thought it was great. I think the tomato and pepper flavor had had more time to get into the polenta.

I did think the thing they did with the tomatoes when you were cooking it was kind of odd - draining the tomatoes, cooking them for 1 minute, then adding the juice back in, then adding the peppers. I followed the directions, but I felt like I probably could have dumped the whole undrained can of tomatoes in, and the peppers at the same time. Any one know why the recipe did this?

[KValley]

Originally posted by beacooker
I did think the thing they did with the tomatoes when you were cooking it was kind of odd - draining the tomatoes, cooking them for 1 minute, then adding the juice back in, then adding the peppers. I followed the directions, but I felt like I probably could have dumped the whole undrained can of tomatoes in, and the peppers at the same time. Any one know why the recipe did this?

I'm sitting here eating some of the leftovers for lunch. YUM! :D

I, too, thought these steps were a bit silly. I didn't have any remaining juice, since I drain my tomatoes as I roast them; I added in some leftover tomato sauce and just cooked the tomatoes, peppers and sauce at the same time- I had other stuff going on on the stove and didn't want to mess around with adding and removing.

I'm also curious if anyone has ideas why doing it as printed would be more desireable?

[goldilocks]

KValley - can you please explain your roasted tomato technique. I am intrigued.

[amcleod]

I made this one too and really liked it. I did use the tubed polenta since I had it. But I think I would definitely make home-made next time. Of course, I have never made home-made polenta before. Do you just use regular ole cornmeal? I know there are some thread on the BB about it, but thought I would ask since you just made it.

Thanks!!

[Jessica]

While the polenta dish was baking, I made a Sautéed Mixed Greens with Olives and Ricotta Salata from the September '01 issue of Food and Wine.

Would it be possible to post this recipe? It sounds divine.

[KValley]

goldilocks,

I wish I could claim this cooking technique as my own, but alas, I must give credit to Moosewood doyenne, Mollie Katzen. I am still in my culinary infancy and occasionally must be led gently by the hand (or cookbook) as I bustle self-importantly about the kitchen.

I use Roma, core them to remove the stem, place the tomatoes upright in a baking pan or glass dish lined with foil, and roast them in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. I drain the liquid from the dish about halfway through to prevent having stewed tomatoes. Cool. Once cooled I remove the skin and chop.

amcleod-

For this recipe, I wanted a thicker polenta that would firm up nicely when cooled. Here's a good recipe:

Basic Polenta
The New Basics Cookbook
Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

3 cups milk
1 TBL unsalted butter
1 TSP Sugar
1/2 TSP salt
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
2 TBL unsalted butter, melted

1. Combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan and heat just to simmer.

2. Slowly add the cornmeal in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Lower the hear and continue stirriing with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and leaves the sides of the pan, about 10 minutes.

6 portions.

*I didn't melt the butter prior- just added it in- it dissolves pretty quickly and means one less pan to wash
*For this recipe, I rolled out the cooked, still warm polenta onto a baking sheet lined with foil, using a rolling pin sprayed with cooking spray and put this in the fridge until I was ready to bake. I thought this was pretty clever of me :D

Enjoy!

[goldilocks]

KValley - another follow up question. Do you use this technique instead of using canned tomatoes and how do you stand them upright in the pan? Don't they topple over? Could I just lay them down?

[KValley]

Originally posted by goldilocks
KValley - another follow up question. Do you use this technique instead of using canned tomatoes and how do you stand them upright in the pan? Don't they topple over? Could I just lay them down?


Yes and goodness, I sort of plant them firmly in the dish. They do have a tendancy to topple, but I think that's okay :)

[andrea]

we loved this one, too! even my polenta-nose-wrinkling husband... he was shocked AND had seconds! plus... SO EASY!!! i'm sure home-made polenta and roasted tomatoes would be great but half the reason i love this recipe is the easiness!!! is that a word?

next time... i'm going to dump in the can of tomatoes instead of straining. 2 less things to wash!

[gertdog]

We made this over the weekend... still as easy and tasty as the first time it appeared in CL... I'm so pleased they brought it back to our attention!

Does anyone have the original recipe from several years ago? I don't remember all of this "draining the tomatoes" silliness from when I made this recipe for the first time, but memory is selective... :o Does CL ever revise their "back to the best" recipes before reprinting?

Also... I had some leftovers from my efforts at being creative with pesto, so I dolloped some on instead of using the fresh basil. Delicious!