Baked Polenta With Gorgonzola

[claire797]

If anyone's interested, I have a very good recipe for baked polenta with gorgonzola cheese. The original recipe is from a book called Saveur Cooks American and serves six people. This is recipe is scaled down to serve 4 as a side dish or perhaps 2 as a main dish.

Below is the recipe and the calorie count for those who wish to know. I also took a few pictures :)

Baked Polenta With Gorgonzola

1/2 cup polenta (coarse ground cornmeal)(300 cal) 3 oz
1 10 oz can chicken broth (not reduced sodium)(30 cal)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese tablespoons chopped (60 cal) 1/2 oz
roasted bell peppers (optional)(10 cal)
1 oz (about 1/4 cup) crumbled gorgonzola cheese (110 cal)
About a teaspoon or less of butter (30 cal)

1. Butter bottom and sides of a 5 inch cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 350 and set skillet in oven. If you don't have a 5 inch, an 8 inch will work but the polenta will be thinner. No big deal.

2. In a saucepan, bring can of broth to a boil. Stir in polenta and cook over low heat until polenta is the consistency of cooked oatmeal or grits. Takes about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add cheese and peppers. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

4. Bake in a 350° oven for 15 minutes. Top with gorgonzola and cook for about 12-15 more minutes.

The weight of the dish is around 13 oz. The total calorie count is about 540. 1/4 of the recipe is a pretty generous side dish slice and comes in at 135 calories. Here are some pictures:


http://www.ginsberg.com/anna/polentapie.jpg

http://www.ginsberg.com/anna/polentapiecut.jpg

[Kayla]

Wow - thanks for the review AND the pictures - that looks absolutely wonderful :)

P.S. I like the trivet you have it on - Portmeirion? My mom collects those, they really are beautiful dishes!

Kayla

[Zinnia]

Thanks for posting this recipe Claire!
The pictures look fantastic and my mouth is watering right now, lol.
A perfect dish to use up the rest of the gorgonzola in my fridge.
;) Zinnia

[claire797]

Originally posted by Zinnia
Thanks for posting this recipe Claire!
The pictures look fantastic and my mouth is watering right now, lol.
A perfect dish to use up the rest of the gorgonzola in my fridge.
;) Zinnia

Thanks!

BTW. If you only have an 8 inch skillet, you can use that. The polenta will just be a little thinner when sliced.

The original recipe used 3x the amount of everything, so if you have a lot of people in your family who like polenta, you may want to make more. In that case, you would definitely need at least a 10 inch skillet.

[kristalsnow7]

OMG that looks good! Why did I look at the pictures an hour before lunchtime?? ;)

Thanks for the recipe!

Kristal

[Peggy]

That looks absolutely wonderful! Thanks for posting the recipe and pictures.

Peggy

[claire797]

I did another polenta experiment. I cut the pie into single servings and froze them individually. To reheat an individual serving, I set it in an oven-proof bowl (still frozen), covered it with foil and cooked it for 35 minutes at 350. Came out perfect!

[Vicanddi]

I made this recipe last night, my first time ever making polenta. I also made spaghetii and meatballs, so I used Mozzarella instead of the gorgonzola. (The polenta was for me, the spaghetti noodles for DH; I served the meatballs/sauce on top of my polenta) I'm not sure what I think of polenta yet, the texture is rather odd. I did like the flavors though, and will probably make this again. I think it would be just great with gorgonzola, which I happen to have in the fridge, I just didn't think it would go as well with my meatballs. Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)

I may try making firmer polenta next time, to see if I like that texture better.

[claire797]

Originally posted by Vicanddi
I made this recipe last night, my first time ever making polenta. I also made spaghetii and meatballs, so I used Mozzarella instead of the gorgonzola. (The polenta was for me, the spaghetti noodles for DH; I served the meatballs/sauce on top of my polenta)

My DH won't eat polenta too. If he liked it, I'd make it a lot more often. :rolleyes:

Did you have any leftovers? I'm curious because you might enjoy the polenta more on the second day. It gets firmer as it sits.

[Vicanddi]

Yes, I have a lot leftover. I plan on having some for lunch. I'm hoping it will be a little firmer, and that I will like the texture better. I'll let you know what I think of it! :)

[tigermorris]

is the polenta (coarse cornmeal) sold with the conrmeal and all the flours?

Thanks, Terri
recipe sounds great

[Vicanddi]

I found mine at Whole Foods, in the large bins, and it was by the cornmeal.

[Pony]

Thanks for reviving this thread...didn't see this before. WOW, the picture looks so tasty! Thanks for posting.

michelle

[Vicanddi]

Michelle, mine looked just like the picture too! Just wanted to let you know, the polenta was much better the next day, nice and firm, and it even had better flavor. Definitely a keeper!