Grilled Polenta with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce, Spinach and White Beans

The best polenta is made slowly over a double boiler, but if you're strapped for options and for time, most will never be able to tell the difference between instant and the slow cooked. While most recipes call for water and a little bit of parmesan cheese, I use vegetable broth and a 'lot bit' of parmesan cheese. If you don't have time to make polenta and let it cool before making this dish, you may skip the grilling of the polenta squares, and serve it soft on a plate, with the vegetables and sauce.

My favorite part of this recipe though is the sauce made of blue cheese and rosemary. This makes the dish rich and delicious and this recipe has made the ranks of my comfort food, up there with pizza, mac 'n cheese, and fried eggs :)

Serves: 4

Takes about 30-40 minutes (depending on the polenta cooling time)

1 cup instant polenta

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup of grated parmesan

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

100 grams, of fresh or frozen spinach

1 can northern or white beans, drained and  rinsed

5 ounces good quality blue cheese

1/2 cup cream

2 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper

olive oil

flour for dusting

1.) Start by making the polenta in advance, according to the directions on the type of polenta you've bought. Typically there is a 1:4 polenta to liquid ratio, and I like to get the broth boiling and slowly pour in the polenta whilst stirring. If possible, I also try to keep a lid partially on, because boiling polenta that hasn't thickened yet has a tendency to spatter.

2.) Once the polenta has thickened, spread it evenly onto a baking sheet, or in my case, a buttered cake tin.  Allow to cool in this shape so that it will be easier to cut, and later, grill.

3.) In a skillet, heat oil to medium and add the garlic and onions and fry until soft, which should only take a few minutes.

4.) Add the beans and the spinach. Or if using frozen spinach you can add that first and allow to thaw before adding the beans. Heat through, or until spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5.) Meanwhile, in another saucepan, crumble the cheese and add the cream and rosemary until cheese has melted. Season and remove from heat.

6.) With the polenta, cut squares or triangles and dip them into the flour, if you have semolina flour it's better because of the nice golden hue. Shake off the excess flour and grill the polenta in a small bit of olive oil until golden on either side.

7.) Serve the grilled polenta with the spinach and beans piled on and a generous portion of sauce.

I realize I haven't been labeling servings per recipe, nor cooking time. It's true that sometimes I make very small recipe versions, which renders only 2, or even 1 serving. I live alone and like to cook every day. (I also don't have a microwave, so reheating dishes often takes as much heating and energy as the initial cooking.) As much as I love leftovers, I don't love them the 3rd or 4th day, so I tend to reduce recipes to half. From now on, I'll do my best to make this more apparent!

Other things I realize I often do is switch between metric or European measurements and American measurements. Though I know think in terms of Celcius and kilometers, I still haven't figured out how the heck to cook with deciliters and grams, ounces, etc. Furthermore, I don't even own a measuring cup! My calculations are based on my Muumi coffee mugs, which I believe to hold about 3 deciliters (a little more than a cup) and that's what I 'measure' with. (don't be mad at me). Cooking is not a science, it is an art!

Corn and Polenta Pancakes with Salsa Crudi

Incredibly easy to make, just like other pancakes really. This is a modified version from one of my favorite cookbooks 'Homestyle Vegetarian' by Murdoch Books. I usually make it for breakfast, but then I have something left over and will eat it again for lunch or dinner the next day. These pancakes stave off hunger for hours, so it's a perfect breakfast before a long bike ride or a hike, or just a long afternoon of shopping the fleamarkets. This recipe serves 4.

Salsa

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cup frozen soy beans, blanched

2 tbs chopped fresh basil

4'' piece of cucumber, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1/2 tbs olive oil

Add all the ingredients of the salsa together and allow marinade itself in the juices, vinegar and oil.

Pancakes

1 cup flour

1 cup polenta

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup corn kernels, frozen or canned

olive oil (for frying)

1.) Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2.) Slowly mix in the milk until the batter is a thick but pour-able consistency.
3.) Add the corn kernels and mix well.
4.) Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and pour about 2 tbs of the batter into the skillet per pancake. Depending on the size of the skillet, you can fry about 2-3 pancakes at a time.
5.) Flip the pancakes after about 2 minutes, or when the underside becomes golden brown. Cook another 2 minutes. Add olive oil when necessary, using all of the batter.

Mushroom and White Bean broth with Polenta and Asparagus

Ok this is not the most photogenic dish, but also this was a picture of the leftovers because the original was devoured too quickly for pictures. (and it was late in the evening when the lighting was bad)

It does seem like a whole menu here, but I assure you the combination of these flavors goes so well together that it makes sense to list it as one recipe. Asparagus and mushrooms both just went in season recently, so it makes sense to try to pair them.

Polenta is a good thing to know how to make because it goes with so many other delicious things. If you can find the instant variety, it takes about 5 minutes to make, including the time to boil the water.

Polenta

3 cups vegetable broth

3/4 cup instant polenta

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring broth to a boil.

2. Stir in polenta and continue stirring for about 3 minutes until the mixture gets thick and bubbly.

3. Stir in the parmesan.

4. Serve immediately (or else it hardens and will not look as pretty, but will taste just as good!

Mushroom and White beans in broth

1 1/2 cups mushroom stock

3 cups chopped fresh mushrooms, such as crimini or portabello (the smaller ones), chopped roughly if they are too big, but if they're bite size you can leave them whole

2 tbs olive oil

1 bunch scallions (greens included) minced

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups canned white beans drained

500 grams asparagus

1. Saute the mushrooms until golden brown in color.

2. Add garlic and scallions and cook for another minute.

3. Add the stock and beans and simmer until mushrooms and beans are well heated and soft.

Serve with steamed asparagus and polenta. Just pour the mushroom mixture over both and garnish with grated parmesan.

Cheesy Baked Polenta

Polenta is another fine comfort food for me. It's kind of peasant food, simple grains, fine cornmeal boiled into a gelatanous mush. Sound appetizing? It can be baked, grilled, fried or served plain, and it goes with a plethora of other ingredients quite easily. It's known as grits in the States, or mael pep in the Carribean, or many other names in Eastern Europe, but no matter how you serve it, it's still good ole comfort food.

In this case, I used instant polenta, as it's the only I've been able to find from even the bigger of the chain stores in Helsinki. It's quite fine, so it works better as the molded and baked or fried variety than the porridge type variety. It's so quick and easy to make!

I first prepared the polenta, with about 2:1 water:polenta ratio, but each variety may call for different cooking times and water ratios. Instead of plain water, I used vegetable stock, and before the gelatanous polenta could harden, I mixed in about 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Then, I spread the polenta thinly on a baking sheet, smoothing evenly with the back of a spoon, wetting the spoon if necessary to avoid sticking. The polenta should be about 1/2" to 1" thick. Let this cool, and put it in the refrigerator if there is room enough. Once chilled, it can be easily sliced into triangles or sticks for whatever you plan to do with it next.

For this, I used four cheeses to make a nice and rich dish. In a casserole dish, I layered a row of polenta slices first, topping with blue cheese, Koskenlaskija cheese (perinteinen versionn of the Finnish favorite), grated mozzerella and repeating a second layer, then topping the whole dish with about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. I then baked at 175C for 3o minutes. The baked dish should cool a little, but then slices easily to make a simple but pleasant presentation.

Sorry in this case there are no exact measurements, as polentas vary from type and brand, and many different kinds of cheeses are suitable! I would also recommend using mascarpone instead of Koskenlaskija if you don't have any of that available. Crumbled feta might also give a nice salty flavor to add.

Buon Appetito!