When I was in high school, I tried a bad batch of polenta. I don’t even remember where I had it, but it was watery, and flavorless. It wasn’t cooked long enough, so it had a bad consistency. Consequently, I swore off polenta for 10 years.
Last month, I decided to give it another try at a restaurant. It was goat cheese and mushroom baked polenta, stuffed with so many delicious things, and the consistency was perfect!
I owe polenta an apology, now for ignoring it all this time. A BIG apology. Now I can’t wait to eat it with everything!
For this recipe, I simmered the polenta on the stovetop in chicken stock (but you can totally use water or vegetable stock if you’re vegetarian or if you don’t have chicken stock on hand.)
The roasted root vegetables and kale pesto are my way of sticking to a plan to eat more veggies (especially greens) without having to eat a huge bowl of salad. Not that I don’t like salads, I love them, it’s just been really chilly here in SoCal, and I needed something warm!
Can we have an honest conversation about kale? Everybody seems to LOVE it right now. It’s the trendiest green thing on Pinterest.
How do you feel about it really, though?
I get that the nutritional benefits are off the charts, but…how does it taste to you?
To me, it ranks slightly higher than the taste of dirt, but pretty much below every other food.
HOWEVER…this pesto has begun to change my mind about that. Mixing it with garlic, and olive oil totally changes the flavor. This kale pesto could totally hold it’s own if compared to traditional pesto.
Is it sad that I have to trick myself into eating greens?
At least by the time I have kids, I’ll be an expert!
My reasoning for the goat cheese needs very little explanation. Ummm…it’s just the tastiest.
I used a product that was labeled as polenta, but it’s really just medium ground cornmeal. Which means, even if you can’t find a product that says “polenta” on the packaging, you can totally use medium or course ground cornmeal. Corn flour wouldn’t work however, as the grind is too fine.
Since I had never had the desire to make polenta before, I did a lot of research before I tried this recipe. I knew that it could be somewhat tricky to get it right, and didn’t want to waste my time.
I found this fantastic post about How to Make the Best Polenta from Serious Eats.
The tips laid out in the article were extremely helpful, and it gave me options, so I could tailor my recipe to the ingredients and time that I wanted to work with. The method I used to cook the polenta, in my recipe below, is based off of this article, so there’s no need to read it if you just want to make the recipe.
If you’re a kitchen nerd like me, though, and you want to know WHY it works, or all the other methods you can use to make polenta (like in the microwave, or deep fried), you should totally check it out.
I need more polenta in my life, and you do too! Trust me. I’ve got a lot of time to make up for!
- FOR THE POLENTA:
- 5 cups water or chicken stock
- 1 cup stone ground cornmeal
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbl butter
- FOR THE KALE PESTO:
- 1½ cups fresh kale leaves, roughly chopped (stems removed)
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- FOR THE ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES:
- 6 small beets, scrubbed and ends cut off. (I used 3 red beets and 3 golden beets)
- 4 medium carrots (I used rainbow carrots)
- ½ tsp salt
- 2-3 tbl olive oil
- Goat Cheese
- Pre-heat oven to 375. Line two standard size rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- FOR THE POLENTA:
- Put chicken stock in a medium saucepan over a medium flame. Pour polenta in slowly, whisking so that clumps do not form.
- Keep heat on medium, and stir every few minutes, scraping the bottom so it doesn't stick.
- When the polenta starts to thicken and bubbles pop on top, turn the heat down to low or medium low. You want it to keep cooking without bubbling too much. Just the tiniest simmer. Keep cooking, stirring every few minutes the whole time, until the polenta is the consistency of thick pudding. You want it to hesitate before it slides off the spoon. You don't want it runny, or there could still be crunchy pieces of corn. It will take about an 45 minutes to an hour to achieve this consistency.
- FOR THE ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES:
- Slice beets and carrots into small pieces and toss with olive oil and salt. Arrange pieces on rimmed baking sheets. Try to spread them out so they don't touch. This will make them cook more evenly.
- Put them in the oven for about 30 minutes until fork tender and slightly crispy. Turn them all once, halfway through baking.
- Don't forget to keep stirring the polenta every few minutes.
- FOR THE KALE PESTO:
- Add the kale, pecans, and salt and pepper to a high powdered blender or food processor. Pulse until the mixture is made up of small pieces and it's well combined. Then turn the blender or food processor on low, and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Stop mixing as soon as you're done pouring.
- You won't need all the pesto for this recipe. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for about 1 week.
- Spoon out around 1½ cups polenta into bowls and top with a 1-2 tablespoons pesto and a generous serving of root vegetables.
- Serve immediately.
I know it takes a while for the polenta to cook, but just get it started first, and then by the time it's done, all of your other ingredients will be ready.
This is definitely something you want to serve immediately. Polenta will solidify if left out too long, or if you chill it in the fridge. That can be great if you want to deep fry it or serve it in fun shapes, but for the purposes of this recipe, you'll want to serve it immediatley.
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OMG this looks amazing!! Stunning photos and delicious vibrant food! My kind of comfort bowl anytime 🙂
Thanks so much for your sweet comment! Happy New Year!
Hi Lindsey,
Love your photos, vibrant colours.
It looks so inviting :), wish I could grab it off the screen
Thanks so much, Lisa!
I agree, I can only eat so many salads when it’s cold. I need warm comfort food. I know I’d love this!
Right? Gimme something roasted and creamy! Thanks for your comment 🙂
This looks amazing! I am a Polenta newbie and always looking for new ways to try it out. So far I’ve only had flops, but this looks like a guaranteed win!
As for Kale – I love the stuff! You should try making your own Kale Chips (just rip up pieces of Kale and spray with olive oil, sprinkle a bit of salt and bake until they’re melt in your mouth delicious!).
Thanks, Monique! Kale chips are awesome! I haven’t made them myself, but I’ve tried other people’s recipes.