Note the artistic use of depth of field (pretentious for poorly focused iPhone pic).I love polenta, its easy and quick to make, and can be created in a variety of consistencies to suit whatever your needs are. It captures flavors really well, in perfect juxtaposition to my poor image capturing skills.
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Pre-cooked polenta (its in a tube)
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Red Onion
Bell Pepper (any color, orange is fun)
Mushrooms
Spinach
Can of roasted tomatoes
Garlic
Fresh Sage
Fresh Thyme
Butter
Goat Cheese
I know, it seems so wrong, but trust me, it gets better.The polenta is easiest to work with if you cut it up and microwave it for 2 minutes (this will soften it).
Or you can gently heat it in a pan.
In this little reaction, we are using the butter like a fat delivery man.Now, fry those sage leaves in a lot of butter, delicious. You see, there are tons of these complex fat soluable flavor compounds to be found all around us, but you need to use fat to release them. So there are certain flavors in that sage that your tongue would never have the joy of discovering unless you add some fat, this is why fat makes things taste so good.
Let it brown, its ok, medium high heat.
Remove your crispy sage leaves (save for garnish) and pour the butter into the polenta and mix. Add salt and fresh ground pepper.
At this point, the polenta will be really "tight". Simply add hot water in small increments and stir until it reaches your desired consistency. Some people like it firm, like mashed potatoes, others creamy, like grits. Cover and set aside.
Ratatouille is so simple to do, and really you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. The key is consistent cut sizes and timing.Basically keep each veggie group the same size. So all your onion slices are about the same thickness, the mushrooms are the same size cut as each other etc. The other thing is to add the items according to how long they take to cook. Use your judgment here, and if you mess up it's still delicious.
Use a pan with enough room for everything. My first choice is a big dutch oven. My last choice is an overcrowded saute pan like the one I used here.
Throw down a little butter, saute some diced garlic until fragrant (NOT BROWNED) and start with the mushrooms, as they have a ton of water to release. When they are done, toss in the peppers, let 'em go for a few, then onions. Squash should go last.
Throw in the can of tomatoes, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, salt, simmer gently until all is done. Do not overcook or else it all gets mushy. Done. Put it in a bowl.
Quickly saute some spinach with a little olive oil and garlic. It takes like 30 seconds.
Polenta down first, then ratatouille, then spinach. Crumble some goat cheese on top, garnish with the crispy sage leaves. Eat it. Be amazed you actually don't miss meat.
This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for sage brown butter polenta.
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