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March 23, 2009

Polenta, the lazy way

No picture today, polenta isn't very photogenic. This post is for Wendy at Celiacs in the House. She recently tried a few different methods of making polenta and I wanted to share this method with her.

I'm not sure of the origin of this recipe, I got it from my friend Jan.

I've made stovetop polenta using instant polenta, and it's fast and easy, but the volcanos of hot polenta that I experienced when I made it are a bit too scary for me. Traditional stovetop polenta requires a lot of attention, not for me. I like this method, it requires just one stir halfway through the cooking. Perfect for when you want to focus on other dishes or you just want something easy.

This version uses marjoram and Parmesan cheese, but try it with your favorite herbs and cheeses. If you have some half and half or cream, try it with that instead of the milk.

Oven Baked Creamy Polenta
from the kitchen of Jan Harding
Serves 6

4 1/2 cups water
1 1/8 cup cornmeal, whole-grain
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/8 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 425.

In a baking dish, whisk together water, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Cover, and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway though.

Remove from oven, and add milk, butter and marjoram. Also add Parmesan if using. Whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.

Posted March 23, 2009 5:26 PM in Gluten-Free, Recipes | Comments (2)

March 6, 2009

I could eat this every day for the rest of my life

My name is Patti and I am an Israeli couscous addict.

There are worse things to be addicted to. My latest Israeli couscous recipe find combines the little pearls of yumminess with roasted butternut squash, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, parsley, lemon, and cinnamon. Too good to be true.

I came across a recipe for Cinnamon and Lemon Pearl Couscous and Roasted Butternut Squash while searching for a side dish to pair with Salmon with North African Flavors.. Thanks to Forks.ca for this great recipe.

There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but all of them are easy and don''t take very long. You start by roasting small cubes of butternut squash. OK, so cutting up a butternut squash can be time consuming. The store where I shop always has peeled butternut squash halves. They also have cubed butternut squash, but the pieces aren't uniform so they don't roast evenly and have to be cut again. I find that the precut butternut squash cubes are often a bit squirrely around the edges. The peeled halves seem fresher and I can cut them into whatever size pieces I need for my recipe.

While the squash is roasting, you can cook the Israeli couscous and saute the onion. At least I can. This recipe called for cooking the Israeli couscous like pasta in a pot of boiling salted water with a cinnamon stick. That makes sense since Israeli couscous is a form of pasta, but this was the first time that I've cooked it that way. I've always cooked it by sauteing it in a small amount of butter or olive oil, then adding liquid, bringing it to a boil, then simmering for 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. I think next time I make this recipe, I'll cook it that way because I think the couscous picks up more flavor from the cinnamon stick when cooked with a small amount of water. I'm curious to see if cooking it using the absorption method will result in more cinnamon infused into the couscous.

Once the squash, onion, and couscous are cooked, toss them together with lemon juice and zest, parsley, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, ground cinnamon, and salt and pepper. And dig in!

When I made this for Tuesday's client, I made some extra servings for me. I added some chickpeas to it and had it for lunch for a few days. With chickpeas, it becomes a hearty vegetarian main dish. OK, so I ate it for breakfast yesterday too. I said I was addicted. I wasn't kidding.

P.S. I'm going to try this with quinoa. I think a quinoa version of this recipe will be delicious too. And perfect for my gluten-free clients.

Continue reading "I could eat this every day for the rest of my life" »

Posted March 6, 2009 9:23 PM in Recipes | Comments (5)

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