Crispy Polenta with Goat Cheese, Roasted Tomato and Basil

I love simple recipes and this one totally fits in with a busy day. I came across this beauty in one of my favourite magazines Food and Wine. I wanted to do a bit of a test before serving this to company so I made this for lunch one day and let me tell you something…it was super easy, delish and perfect for entertaining. Oh, and we have been eating this all week because I made enough for a small wedding.What I love about this is the texture and flavours of the polenta, goat cheese and roasted tomatoes intertwined with the fresh basil. Yummmmmmm

Now let’s talk about the peas and greenery in these pics shall we? They were leftover from a shoot that I did in the morning which is coming up shortly on the blog. I don’t like to throw stuff out (well, sometimes I do if it’s really old and I don’t plan on serving it but it’s still sturdy enough to use as a prop) so this is what normally transpires on a regular basis on the SBE set. I make the food, style it, photograph it and then stuff it in my face really quickly so that I don’t have to hear Steve complain about wasting food.

This time around I had a mission for these peas, edamame and parsley. And this is where the term recycle/re-use is really my middle name (more about the middle name that I don’t have in a second).

I made myself breakfast in the morning and used the green ingredients in the recipe.

Then, I used the green ingredients in the breakfast shoot. By the way, there were peas flying and rolling everywhere, man those suckers can roll.

With me so far?

Okay. Next I made this recipe and thought……..hmmmmmmm….maybe I should just use those green ingredients as a background for this shoot too? No one will ever notice because I can space the two blogs far enough apart right? Now, that’s what I call environmentally friendly blogging.

I know you are waiting for the middle name story so here goes and I need your help with this so feel free to leave a comment below if you have nothing better to do with your time.

IT’S TIME TO PLAY NAME THAT FOOD BLOGGER:

My mom informed me that she was going through an online document for our family tree the other day. She researches a lot on google etc. and I think I mentioned she’s 94 years old. If you require a temp in your office she’s your gal. Anyways, our cousin in the U.S.A. sent her this TREE and she looked up my great-grandmother’s info. I’m supposedly named after her. In Hebrew her name was Brancha (pronounced BRAUN CHA). When I was born, my mom couldn’t quite figure out a name that would start with the letters BRA and refused to name me Brandy after a bottle of booze SOOOOOOOOO she named me Deborah and neglected to give me a middle name (AND I FEEL LIKE I NEED ONE NOW). I’m getting to the point hang on…….

The other day when she looked at the family tree she noticed that my great-grandmother’s names English translation is BRIANNE. UM. Hello? Isn’t that a nice name? Now here’s the question.

Should I:

A. Make BRIANNE my middle name

B.  Stick with one I’ve always loved which is NICOLE.

C. Leave well enough alone and be happy with a first and last name only.

Vote below and the top selection will be announced on Instagram next week!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Crispy Polenta with Goat Cheese, Roasted Tomato and Basil

 

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Author: adapted from Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 8½ cups water
• 6½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound polenta (2¾ cups)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1½ pounds cherry tomatoes on the vine
• 8 thyme sprigs
• 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• garnish - fresh basil leaves

Instructions

1. Lightly spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large saucepan, bring the water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to a boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook over low heat, whisking, until thick, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
3. Scrape the polenta into the baking dish and smooth the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently toss the tomatoes with 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomatoes on the baking sheet and scatter the thyme sprigs on top. Roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to burst; discard the thyme.
5. Meanwhile, turn the polenta out onto a work surface and trim ½ inch off all sides. Cut the polenta into 8 rectangles or smaller if you want appetizer bite size pieces. Heat a large nonstick skillet. Brush both sides of the polenta with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt. Working in 2 batches, cook the polenta over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the polenta to plates and top with the goat cheese. Arrange the roasted tomatoes over the polenta and serve. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

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