Al Rustico did it again. And it's not an 'oops.' I was drooping with exhaustion from being up at sunrise with the beautiful baby boy. My Al Rustico man has been working like a madman to bankroll our affinity for fabulous food, AND doing the cooking lately, as I am taking care of the impossibly beautiful baby most of the day . . . oh and making my way back to a full work and Yoga practice schedule . . . oh and trying to lose 10 pounds before we go to Mexico in a month. Anyway, he whipped up this recipe on Friday night, and it was so exciting. I ate rabidly and then fell asleep in a heap on the sofa, but not before writing down the recipe and method of preparation as I was overwhelmed by the deliciousness. We are calling this recipe "polenta 'plosion," as it betrays the feel of the dish, and our affinity for alliteration . . . 'plosion being an abbreviation of 'explosion,' of course-- but it sounds a little dirty, doesn't it? The herb crust on the polenta really makes the dish by creating the best layering of flavors. Then the goat cheese and the braised tomato and vegetable topping with the fresh herbs and the nuttiness of the pine nuts - fuhgeddaboud it! It's easy to make too. Polenta is also much healthier than wheat-based pasta, and very economical. This is truly the greatest dish to come around in a while.
Ingredients
1 package of polenta
in a round
dry spice mix: 1 tblsp
rosemary, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp sage
1 28 oz of tomatoes,
removed from juice
1/2 an onion diced
1 diced whole red
pepper
4 cloves garlic diced
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup pitted
kalamata olives
1 cup vegetable broth
4 oz goat cheese /
grated parmesan (optional)
handful chopped
parsley and torn basil leaves
2 tblsp toasted pine
nuts
4 tblsp olive oil
Method
-toast pine nuts and
set aside
-mortar and pestle the
dry spices to mix together and break down the rosemary needles, remove any
sharp bits
-slice the polenta in
1/2 inch rounds and coat with dry spice mixture
-heat 2 tblsp olive
oil
-brown garlic, onion
-add peppers &
cook for a min
-add mushrooms. Cook
water out of mushrooms.
-add strained tomatoes
and break up tomatoes a little bit with a wooden spoon
-add olives & veg
broth & simmer on low for a few minutes, then put sauce in a bowl and set
aside
-heat 2 tblsp olive
oil in a no-stick pan
-fry herb-coated
polenta rounds until golden brown on each side (around 5 minutes each side)
-plate the polenta
rounds, top with goat crumbled goat cheese, then the sauce
-sprinkle over with
pine nuts, fresh herbs, parmesan, salt & pepper to taste
ENJOY!
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