Polenta with Green Beans
"This is a different and tasty side dish with an Italian flare, thanks to the cooked polenta. Coarsely-ground cornmeal is sometimes labelled "polenta", a little shopping hint if you have trouble finding it at your supermarket. An Italian market will have it if you strike out at your regular grocery story."
photo by Missy Wombat
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock (using water makes this a vegetarian dish)
- 1 cup coarsely-ground cornmeal (, finely ground won't work as well)
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1⁄4 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
directions
- Over medium heat in a large pot, bring stock to a boil (use water to make this a vegetarian dish).
- Very slowly, whisk in cornmeal.
- Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, whisking very frequently; polenta will be thick.
- Season well with salt and pepper and, with a wooden spoon, beat in the cheese.
- Oil an 8-inch baking dish and pour polenta in; smooth top and set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
- Cut polenta into squares and place on an oiled baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until polenta squares are slightly browned.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to boil and add beans.
- Cook for 2 minute; drain; rinse under cold water and set aside.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil; when hot, add garlic, red pepper and the beans.
- Saute until peppers have softened and garlic is golden, about 5 minutes.
- Season veggies with salt and pepper.
- Place polenta squares on a serving platter and top with veggies; serve immediately.
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Reviews
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Unbelievably good! This was a tad time consuming, but totally worth it. I used water instead of stock but didn't "miss" any of the flavour. I more than made up for it with the seasoning, and the parmesan cheese helps otherwise bland polenta a lot. I used a green bell pepper and garlic powder. The only thing I changed was in not rinsing the beans with cold water, because I didn't want to lose any more of its nutrients :-) I'll definitely make this again... thanks Lennie! I'll admit this turned out much, much better than I'd imagined! -
Simple tasty dish. I will recommend you using stock than water; the polenta will suck up the flavour. I also saute some thinly-sliced shiitake mushroom with the veggies and serve it with salsa. -
This is excellent. Just enough cheese to provide a very nice taste without being ridiculous. Looks very pretty and was great for a Mediterranean themed meal. I used a green pepper rather than a red pepper. -
Please run, don't walk, to this recipe. It's got a clunky title and it's anything but clunky. Living and cooking in the Veneto region of Italy, polenta is a perennial at our table. This simple combination makes the best of all its parts and is very authentic. Everything fresh (including the stock) will of course give the best result, but may I make one suggestion? Eliminate step number 7; if you've gone to the work of stirring the polenta to perfection, why gild the lily? This is similar to good risotto preparation: do the stove time, pat yourself on the back, have a glass of wine, thank God that Italian food exists, serve.
Tweaks
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Unbelievably good! This was a tad time consuming, but totally worth it. I used water instead of stock but didn't "miss" any of the flavour. I more than made up for it with the seasoning, and the parmesan cheese helps otherwise bland polenta a lot. I used a green bell pepper and garlic powder. The only thing I changed was in not rinsing the beans with cold water, because I didn't want to lose any more of its nutrients :-) I'll definitely make this again... thanks Lennie! I'll admit this turned out much, much better than I'd imagined!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I have been sharing recipes here at Recipezaar since October 2001. You won't see me around anymore, although if you're an old-school Zaarite you'll remember that in the past, you couldn't shut me up!
