Polenta "Pizza"
Polenta PizzaThis dish is inspired by our friend Joy, who is a great cook and who, with her husband Mark, we were very happy to visit in Yosemite over the Labor Day weekend. Actually, inspire isn't quite accurate. This is an attempt to replicate the yummy pizza she made for dinner when we were there. I was looking up recipes for polenta when I found a recipe for "polenta pie" in the Moosewood Cookbook. It sounds vastly similar to the one Joy made. So here is the recipe, adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook.
Get ready a 10 or 12 inch oven-proof pan, preferably a cast-iron pan, by oiling it with a bit of oil. If you don't have either of these, try a 10 inch pie pan. Preheat oven to 400F.
Crust:
1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 cups water
a little olive oil.
Combine cornmeal, salt and cold water in a small bowl. Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the cornmeal mixture, whisking. Lower heat and cook about 10 minutes, stirring almost constantly. It will get very thick. Remove from heat and let cool for around 10 minutes.
Transfer the polenta to the pan of choice, spreading it evenly out over the bottom with a spatula. Brush the surface with a bit of olive oil. If you wish for a crispier pizza base, bake the polenta base uncovered for 35 minutes. Otherwise, the pizza base is ready for the topping at this point.
Topping:
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium red onion (yellow ok), cut into thin slices
1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
A good, generous handful of cherry tomatoes (preferably yellow for color effect), cut in half
2 tsp dried basil or 2 tbs fresh basil cut into thin strips (optional)
fresh black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled into small pieces (depending on your preference)
3/4 to 1 cup of Moosewood Cookbook Italian tomato sauce (recipe follows)
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onion and green pepper. Cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the basil (if using) and black pepper.
To assemble: spread the tomato sauce over the polenta base. Let your taste about tomato sauce dictate the amount you use - love sauce? Use one cup. Add the the cooked vegetables, spreading it out over the sauce evenly. Sprinkle the cherry tomatoes all over, followed by the the feta cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 400F.
Pizza, demolishedItalian Tomato Sauce
I highly, highly recommend this sauce. It has a lovely deep flavor.
2 to 3 tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (or if you are anything like me, simply 2 medium sized onion chopped)
1 medium sized bell pepper, diced
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1 lb 13 oz can whole tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsb honey
lots of black pepper
4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup freshly minced parsley
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion, bell pepper, herbs, and salt and saute over medium heat until the onion is very soft.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and black pepper. Use a spoon to break up the tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.
Add garlic and cook about 10 minutes more. at this point, the sauce can sit for up to several hours, or be refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen. Heat gently before serving, adding parsley at the last minute.
I highly, highly recommend this sauce. It has a lovely deep flavor.
2 to 3 tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (or if you are anything like me, simply 2 medium sized onion chopped)
1 medium sized bell pepper, diced
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1 lb 13 oz can whole tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsb honey
lots of black pepper
4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup freshly minced parsley
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion, bell pepper, herbs, and salt and saute over medium heat until the onion is very soft.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and black pepper. Use a spoon to break up the tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.
Add garlic and cook about 10 minutes more. at this point, the sauce can sit for up to several hours, or be refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen. Heat gently before serving, adding parsley at the last minute.
Comments