Polenta for Dinner

A month later....

Since I've been MIA in the blog world for a bit it seems appropriate to start with a difficult, if not time consuming recipe; just for all 'em ambitious folks!

My sister sent this recipe to me and it's very tasty. It seems like a lot of work but in all honesty it doesn't have to be. For a quick version, roast a few vegetables with olive oil in the oven, bake the polenta and add pre-made (eek) tomato sauce. Enjoy Moody's delicious vegan polenta!

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked instant polenta
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan, divided (optional but you can buy soy parmesan at Capers on 4th)
• 1/8–1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (or oregano) or 1 tbsp dried
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 asparagus stalks, ends trimmed
• 8 scallions, trimmed
• 2 small Japanese or Italian eggplants, trimmed and halved
• 1 medium-large yellow squash (about 1/2 lb), cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes

Sauce

• 1 jar (12 oz) prepared roasted red peppers, drained
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, basil or parsley (plus extra for garnish)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

Bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add polenta in a stream, whisking to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/3 cup Parmesan and season with cayenne and salt. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Transfer polenta to pie plate, smooth into an even layer and let cool 15 minutes.

Whisk garlic, thyme, lemon juice and oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss vegetables with dressing. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange vegetables in 1 layer (or in 1 layer in a grill basket). Broil vegetables about 4 inches from heat until tender and slightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a platter.

Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Sprinkle polenta with remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Broil polenta in pie plate until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, then cut polenta into 8 triangles. Divide polenta among 4 plates. Top with vegetables, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with chives. Yum!

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