Polenta and Basil and Cheese

I don't remember eating polenta when I was young. If we had spaghetti sauce, or 'gravy' if you're Italian I guess, Mom served it with spaghetti. 

I really, really like polenta. It's good by itself, a sort of variation of grits, and it's great as a base for roasted veggies, or a pork stew, or for any version of spaghetti sauce with a tomato base. If you chill it, it becomes a great side to warm up on a grill or in a cast iron skillet. The toasting of those corn bits gives it a different flavor than the soft version straight out of the pot.

This time we're doing a variation on the chilled polenta. Parmesan cheese, pepper and a bit of butter gets stirred into the soft, hot polenta, and then half of it gets poured into a greased pan, that gets topped with fresh basil leaves (which is why I'm making it now when my basil bush is really producing lots of fresh basil) and some mozzarella cheese, then that is topped with the rest of the polenta.

After that concoction chills to firm up, you cut it into portions and cook it until golden brown on a grill or in your cast iron skillet. The polenta gets a bit crusty and the cheese in the middle gets gooey. I like to heat a little spaghetti sauce in the microwave to spoon over the top since basil and tomato are such a great match of flavors. This can be a side dish or, with a larger portion, a full meal. Imagine that, plus a crisp green salad, maybe tossed with an Italian dressing...bliss! 

Grilled Cheese and Basil Polenta
Based on a Donna Hay (#40) recipe 

3 cups (750ml) water 
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (170g) instant polenta (I used an equal amount of regular polenta and cooked 10 minutes or so)

60g butter, chopped (I only used a tablespoon of butter)
½ cup (50g) finely grated parmesan
 freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup basil leaves
1 cup (100g) grated mozzarella
olive oil, for brushing

Place water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Stir in salt. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir through the butter, parmesan, and pepper. Pour half of the polenta into a 20cm square pan lined with non-stick baking paper and spread to smooth. (I used a 9-inch round pie pan, lined with foil and then sprayed with olive oil spray.) Top with the basil, mozzarella and remaining polenta. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until set.
Cut into squares/rectangles/wedges and brush with oil. Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue over high heat. (I used my cast iron skillet, well heated) Cook the polenta for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and the cheese has melted.

Serve topped with a generous serving of the pasta sauce or a ragu of your choice. A nice green salad completes the meal.

Country Comforts - Polenta and Balsamic Mushrooms

With time on my hands, I've been going through bookshelves and throwing out what needs to be thrown out. One of the things I discovered were some old Bon Appetit magazines going back as far as 1991! Most of them are newer, with quite a few from around late 1999 and early 2000 when I was distracted by grief and probably never even read them. Perhaps that's why I saved them. Things have changed over the decades. Many of the recipes from the early 90s are very rich, with lots of sauces, including many with a lot of whipping cream. These were served with desserts with lots of chocolate and whipping cream. I'm glad that we have not gotten rid of the chocolate but moved a bit past so much whipping cream.

One of the recipes sounded really great, especially because we had a lot of mushrooms. Sweetie and I have been blessed with wonderful neighbors who ask what they can get us when they shop. That led to a double amount of fresh mushrooms through our miscommunication. Fortunately, we both love mushrooms! In making the Cottage Loaf, I had re-discovered the polenta in the extra fridge, so I knew that I could make the polenta.

In the recipe, from the October, 1991 Bon Appetit issue titled Country Comforts on the cover, the polenta was baked. It had a lot more dairy, including full fat sour cream (I substituted low fat yogurt and reduced the amount), lots of Parmesan cheese (I had none and Sweetie had a reduced amount) and lots of butter (again replaced with non-dairy and reduced in amount). I made it stove-top so that the mushrooms could take up the oven and it was just perfect. I re-wrote the direction for stove-top. If you make this with water, skip the yogurt and use plant-based butter and no Parmesan, it is a vegan meal.

The polenta is OK just a little salty since the mushrooms get a bit sweet with the roasting and the balsamic. It's a great combination! If at all possible, use fresh herbs. It makes a difference.

The recipe was found in an article on the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, CA, a pioneering restaurant, founded in 1989, which closed sometime in 2015. Who knows what magazine gems I'll find next.

Do try this delicious dish yourself. Except for prepping the mushrooms and stirring the polenta, it doesn't take much effort and the results are worthy of company...once we can have joint dinners again. In the meantime, make it for yourself...you are worth it!

Low-Dairy Polenta with  Thyme and Roasted Balsamic Mushrooms
A variation of a recipe from the Lark Creek Inn, Larkspur, CA

Polenta
1 3/4 cups water or chicken brotIused brot)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plain yogurt
4 tablespoons non-dairy butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (optional)
fresh thyme for garnish

Roasted Balsamic Mushrooms
6 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced (I used minced because that's what I had)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 fresh rosemary sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled
3 fresh thyme sprigs, or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled
4 cups large fresh mushrooms, cleaned, dried, and quartered

Method:
Polenta -  Bring the water or broth and minced garlic to a boil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Pot will need a tight-fitting lid.

Gradually stir polenta into boiling liquid. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir in. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook another 15-20 minutes , stirring frequently, until polenta is thickened and grains are tender (take a taste). Remove from heat and stir in yogurt and butter. If using, stir in Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper as needed, to taste.

Spoon polenta onto plates or into shallow bowls. Garnish with thyme. Top with Roasted Balsamic Mushrooms. Serve at once.

Mushrooms - Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

In a large bowl combine garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs. Add mushrooms and toss to coat. Season lightly with pepper. Toss again.

Arrange in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Roast until mushrooms are tender and slightly crisp on edges, 20 minutes or so. Serve over cooked Polenta.

Polenta

In Napa County, CA there is a State Park which includes a working grist mill. They have refurbished the old building that has been there since the 1850s and served as the community mill then. The waterwheel turns, although the flume that used to bring water to it no longer works (water is piped in), the grinding stones turn when engaged, and the grain is milled. When they put in dried corn, the output is coarse polenta. It is a whole grain, so there are flecks of tan along with the beautiful corn yellow. It's packaging is a brown paper sack and, because the state hygiene standards for food prep are so stringent in California, it says its not for human consumption. There is no way to have an authentic mill with a grinding stone to grind the grain and meet those standards, but I assure you, we have consumed the products of the milling and have in no way been harmed.

If you get to Napa, do check out the Bale Grist Mill. It's near Calistoga. They often have events. Here is one that sounds like fun:
Napa Valley’s historic Bale Grist Mill is one of the last mills that still grinds grain on the old pair of stones brought here by ship from “the old country”. At Old Mill Days people can visit the mill and experience the shared hard work and resulting sense of community that bound our forefathers together when they try some traditional farm chores: corn husking and shelling, wheat threshing, butter making, apple pressing, hand sewing, bean seed shelling or rope making.
The next one is in October of 2020 which is still far enough away to plan a trip!

One of my favorite things to do with this lovely polenta is to cook it up into soft cooked polenta. I found a very simple recipe in The Vineyard Kitchen by Maria Helms Sinskey. It really helps to use high quality polenta meal because the only ingredients are the polenta meal, milk (I used soy milk), butter (I used cashew based vegan 'butter') and salt, plus water, and with a little pepper at the finish. You do have to stir for quite a while, but maybe you will be sharing the dish with someone who will take a turn stirring?

Polenta makes a great base for a vegetable stew or roasted veggies (which is what I used), for Italian flavored ragu sauce, for sauteed mushrooms and onions, for a meat stew with greens braised with the meat (pork works really well), and many other winter toppings. You can also serve it as it, or with some butter or cheese on top to melt into the soft hot goodness.

If you let the polenta cool overnight in the fridge, you can cut it into slices or sticks and pan fry for a tasty addition to breakfast.

I was sure that I had taken a photo of this delicious dish, but can't find the photo, so I'm posting one I found on the internet. Next time... Doesn't Jennifer Davick's photo make the polenta look delicious?

Photo by Jennifer Davick

Simple Soft Polenta
Serves 8
(recipe is easily divided in half for 4 servings, which is what I did)
From The Vineyard Kitchen by Maria Helms Sinskey

3 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup coarse polenta
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring the milk, 2 cups water, and the butter to a boil in a large pot; season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the polenta slowly. Place the pan back over low heat and stir the polenta with a wooden spoon until it is smooth, tender, and creamy, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and cover until ready to serve.
Reheat if necessary; add a little water to thin if the polenta has stiffened.

Pork Yumminess for a Cold Night

Sometimes things just come together. The plants go in the ground just before a gentle rain falls, followed by warmth and sunshine, so they grow well from the start. A job opens up after months of not much interest when resumes were sent, then housing nearby is easy to find and the move happens just before a big snowfall. Requests for a speaker for an important meeting fall through and then, at the last minute, you get a 'yes' from the speaker you wanted the most. Things like that brighten you day, week or month.

Today things came together on the dinner front. I knew we had some boneless pork that needed to be cooked, I had a yen for polenta, inspection of the produce bin showed that we had both fresh mushrooms and baby spinach. After that it was just a matter of remembering other dishes that were good and borrowing from them. Sautéed onion, mushrooms, celery and garlic can be the base for any number of delicious savory meals. Sage and thyme go so well with pork and with mushrooms.

Julia Child often threw some orange peel into this kind of braised meat dish, so why not this one? Ditto with the red wine and touch of tomato sauce. My mom's stew recipe uses Worcestershire so I added some of that, too, plus a bit of leftover chicken broth to keep the meat submerged in liquid as it braised.

I've always loved polenta with a little Parmesan cheese added and I know that this sort of hearty braised meat goes well with polenta. The spinach? It was the thing that pulled it all together, plus the bright green color is so appealing.

Have fun with this. The wine could be replaced with beer, ale or stout, or even white wine. The fresh mushrooms could be replaced with dried and reconstituted ones. Add more garlic, skip the orange peel, replace the celery with fennel. I'm sure you will still have a wonderful dish that will warm you up on a cold night as it did Sweetie and Elle.


Pork Ragout with Spinach over Polenta

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs boneless pork (I used country rib meat), cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel or a 1-inch by 2-inch piece of fresh orange peel minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
Polenta for 2 - 4 people
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and drained

In a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pot heat 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil and saute' the onions, mushrooms, celery and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

While vegetables are cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Blot the meat cubes if necessary. Dry meat browns better than cubes with moisture one them. Brown the pork cubes on all sides, working with about 1/4 of the meat at a time. As the pork finishes browning, transfer to the vegetable pot.

To the vegetables and pork add the sage, thyme, orange peel, salt and pepper, red wine, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth. Cover the pot and place over medium heat on the stove top while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. When oven is hot remove the pot of pork and vegetables from the heat and put it into the oven, still covered. Cook for 1 hour, checking in the last 15 minutes to make sure there is still enough liquid so that the contents don't burn.

When the pork has about 15 minutes left, prepare polenta according to the package directions. When cooked stir in the Parmesan cheese.

When the polenta is almost done, remove the pot from the oven, stir in the spinach, and set aside, covered for 2-3 minutes to wilt the spinach. Serve the pork and vegetable mixture over the polenta in wide bowls. Garnish with more grated Parmesan if desired. Serves 2- 4

Old Time Milling and Polenta

Last weekend we drove over the hills to Calistoga, then down the road to the Bale Grist Mill, a California State Park, to watch them mill corn into polenta.


Here is a diagram of the mill, with the water coming in by flume to the top of the water wheel which turns the wheel, which turns various gears, which in turn turn the millstone to grind the grain, also known as grist. The numbers refer to the description and photos below.

We had a very good guide in the miller. He knew the history and brought it to life with vivid descriptions of the Napa valley full of wheat fields (instead of grape vines), of the mill being a community center where neighbors met and gossiped while the grain was being turned into flour or corn meal or polenta (a coarser corn meal), of the flume being built to the newly constructed mill pond on higher ground so that there was year round water with some force behind it to turn the water wheel,(#1)


and stories about Dr. Bale who founded the mill and of Dr. Bale's widow making sure that after he died the mill had good French mill stones instead of the local quartz ones that the mill started with...and those stones are still in use!

He did a wonderful job of explaining the working parts of the mill, too, including the gears under the main floor.(#2)


Who knew that wooden gears were better than metal ones in a mill? The teeth could be replaced and the metal teeth could cause sparks and start a fire with all that flour flying around.

This mill had a set of mill stones for grinding flour and a set for grinding corn. Since the miller's helper had gone home sick, he asked for volunteers. Cucumber Spraygun was asked to turn the crank which engaged one set of gear with the ones turning the mill wheel on top (the bottom one is fixed). Here he is in action.(#3)



The miller was grinding polenta the afternoon we were there. They used to use Indian corn which is very colorful but some of the kernels grind into black specks...not too good for sales. Now they use plain yellow corn. Here is the set up for milling. The round box contains the stone wheels, the wedged box above holds the grain and there is a chute from it to the opening into the eye of the top stone wheel. From there is goes in between the stones and the grains sort of grind themselves...the stones never touch. (#4)



If you are lucky enough to obtain stone ground polenta, you can make this recipe, but if not, just shorten the cooking time by 3-4 minutes and use regular instant polenta from the store. Either way you can enjoy a grain that is very healthy for you, delicious, and in a dish that you can make ahead.

If you get to Napa County, California, check to see if the Bale Grist Mill is open. If it is, treat yourself to a journey to the past, plus a real-time opportunity to purchase delicious stone ground wheat flour, spelt flour and corn meal as well as this yummy polenta.

Grilled Cheese and Basil Polenta
Adapted from a Donna Hay (#40) recipe as posted on Technicolor Kitchen blog

3 cups (750ml) water
1 cup (170g) stone ground polenta
60g butter, chopped (I only used a tablespoon of butter)
½ cup (50g) finely grated Parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup basil leaves
2 cups (200g) shredded mozzarella cheese
olive oil, for brushing
ragu or marinara sauce, if desired

Place water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook, stirring, for 5-8 minutes or until thickened and grains are no longer hard. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour half of the polenta into a 20cm (8 inch) square pan lined with non-stick baking paper (I used foil) and spread to smooth. Top with the basil, mozzarella and remaining polenta. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until set.

Cut into squares/rectangles and brush with oil. Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue over high heat. (I used my cast iron skillet, well heated.) Cook the polenta for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and the cheese has melted.

Serve topped with a generous serving of the pasta sauce or a ragu or marinara sauce of your choice.

Everything Thats the Kitchen Sink

When you've lived in the same house for going on 25 years, things get old. Sometimes that's nice. Watching the oak tree get taller and taller, seeing the rose bushes go from tiny to magnificent, even seeing the nicks in the wood trim by the fireplace that signifies many warming fires and the kindling that went into them...these are all great reminders of a life built in this old house.

Other things are not so nice. The finish on the stairs in the sun space has grown flaky from constant exposure to the southern light. The carpet in the upstairs part of the sun space has grown very faded. The sink and faucet (well, actually this is faucet number two or three) in the kitchen have grown worn and are showing their age.

The whole kitchen could stand a renovation, but this is not the time for that. The sink, however, has been replaced with a beautiful, simple, white Koehler cast iron one and the faucet set is new, too, with a lovely goose neck curve that makes filling tall pots easy. It even has a spray attachment...something I've wanted for years. The old sink didn't have enough holes for one, but this sink had four holes so I'm a happy camper. The old sink also had a curved piece cut out of the main sink so that a garbage disposal could be installed. The new one is a full rectangle and that makes washing big half-sheet baking pans a breeze. Much of this renovation is a Christmas gift from my Mom....THANKS MOTHER! We pitched in some more for the sprayer and for new shut off valves below the sink. The old ones were truly past their expire date.

If you have been looking at the Daring Baker posts and all of that bread making I've been doing the past few months, you might have imagined the huge numbers of bowls, whisks, pots and pans that needed washing up to work the baking magic. Now I have a sink that will make that so much easier. I might have to bake bread every day!

Speaking of bread, I baked a loaf on Sunday that took all day...ALLLL day...to rise. I finally took it out of the oven about 9 pm. That was the day the sink was being installed. I took the starter out of the fridge first thing in the morning and made the bread about 10 am, then set it to rise in the sun space. At the time it was sunny and warming up a bit. Unfortunately the weather changes, it got colder and I was busy helping, so didn't notice. I tried a barely warm oven and that helped, but not much. I tried the stove top with a cloth over the bowl of dough. Again, it helped, but not much. Since the sink installation was still going on, the poor dough was ignored. Right before dinner it had risen enough to form into loaves. After dinner we turned on a heater, pointed it to the doors of the closed pantry and set the bread pans with the formed loaves on top of the microwave near by. About an hour and a half later they went into a preheated oven and baked for a long time...about an hour I think. It was worth the wait!

This was my first try at making Anadama bread. Maybe it always takes that long for Anadama bread to rise. Sweetie's sister from SF had been visiting earlier in the week and I asked her what bread she had liked to make when she baked bread a while ago. She said, "Anadama Bread", so I had to try making some. It is a New England bread, made with corn meal and molasses.

The version I tried is my variation of a recipe from the New York Times newspaper. I divided the cornmeal in half and used polenta for half and regular cornmeal for half. I also used both whole wheat and all-purpose flour. The cup of whole wheat flour was added at the end of the cooking of the cornmeal so that it could hydrate while the mixture cooled to tepid. Next time I may reduce the molasses amount a bit because it overpowers the corn flavor a little. Mostly I really like this bread. It makes wonderful, full flavored toast. The crumb is tight, moist, and there is a little bit of grit texture from the polenta...only a tiny bit, but enough to notice. The crust is just thick enough and it is a good sandwich bread, too, for full flavored sandwich fillings.

In a warm house it might take the total 4 hours time called for in the recipe, but my house was chilly on Sunday and I didn't enhance my starter with extra yeast as I sometimes do. The bread was worth the wait.

Anadama Bread

makes two loaves

1/4 cup polenta style corn meal

1/4 cup regular corn meal

2 cups water, divided

1/2 cup molasses (I would use less...maybe 1/3 cup next time)

6 tablespoons butter, softened,

1 1/4 oz package active dry yeast (or 1 cup sourdough starter...which is what I used)

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

oil for greasing

In a bowl, whisk together the polenta and the cornmeal and 1 cup of the cold water. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring another cup of water to a boil. Add cornmeal mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is very thick, about 8 - 10 minutes. Stir in the molasses and the butter.

Add the whole wheat flour and stir until all is combined. Transfer mixture to bowl of an electric stand mixer and cool to tepid. (Or transfer to a mixing bowl large enough to mix the dough by hand and then knead in the rest of the flour.)

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast and 1/2 cup water until yeast has dissolved. (Or add the 1 cup sourdough starter to the mixing bowl with the tepid cornmeal mixture.) Add to cornmeal and mix on low speed with dough-hook attachment for several seconds. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing for several seconds after each addition. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and salt, and continue mixing until dough completely comes away from sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.

Lightly oil a bowl. Form dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Oil a sheet of plastic wrap and loosely cover dough. Allow dough to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Lightly grease two 9 x 4 inch loaf pans. Press down dough and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece loosely into a loaf and place each in a pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until loaves have doubled.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake loaves for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until bread is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Allow bread to cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire cooling rack. Serve warm if possible.

I'm going to send this one over to Susan of Wild Yeast at Yeastspotting. Go on over and check out the delicious ways that fellow bakers are using yeast.

Melty Cheese

I love things with melted, gooey, warm and runny cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches come to mind. Pizza, too. Even a slice of good bread, topped with cheese and run under the broiler can be real comfort food.

The other day I saw a recipe by Donna Hay that Patricia had posted on her blog Technicolor Kitchen that sounded SOOOOO good, particularly because it had a layer of melted cheese sandwiched between two layers of polenta. I knew I had to try it. Thanks Patricia!

I decided to make some pasta sauce to go along with the Polenta with Cheese and Basil. I had a pound of Willy Bird's ground turkey, so half was devoted to the pasta sauce, along with some very seasonal zucchini.

Half of the turkey was browned and made into a pot of chili. Since I regularly use packaged chili mix for the seasonings and canned kidney beans and tomato sauce, too, I’m not including a recipe for the chili. The secret of making it taste like “home made” is to simmer it for a long time, stirring frequently. Making it a day or so before you plan to eat it is great, too. Kept in the refrigerator, then re-heated, the flavors get even better.

The second half of the pound of ground turkey went into my favorite pasta sauce. The recipe was previously posted here.

Both the chili and the pasta sauce ended up in the fridge and were eaten this weekend. The polenta recipe needs to be made ahead by at least an hour because it needs to chill, too.

Usually I change something significant about a recipe, but this time I just used less butter and used regular instead of instant polenta. This polenta, a whole grain, was purchased at the Bale Grist Mill in the Napa area. I had enjoyed watching them use the huge mill stones to grind the dried corn into the coarse polenta, so eating this particular polenta was a double treat.

Regular polenta needs to be cooked longer than the instant polenta. I simmered mine ten minutes or more, stirring frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. The cooked polenta was thick and had little darker flecks as the corn had dried with some darker bits. It made a nice, firm cake to cut and grill in my trusty cast iron skillet. I used a round 9 inch cake pan, lined with foil, instead of a square pan.

The fresh basil leaves added a nice jolt of flavor that went so well with the tomato based pasta sauce. The mozzarella cheese in the middle melted ... mmmm, melty cheese! ... so there were lots of great textures and flavors going in this dish.

You could also serve this grilled polenta by itself, as a side dish with some pan fried chops or grilled chicken breasts, or garnished with some pesto sauce.

Here is the recipe for the polenta with cheese and basil:

Grilled Cheese and Basil Polenta
A Donna Hay (#40) recipe as posted on Technicolor Kitchen blog

3 cups (750ml) water
1 cup (170g) instant polenta (I used an equal amount of regular polenta)
60g butter, chopped (I only used a tablespoon of butter)
½ cup (50g) finely grated parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup basil leaves
2 cups (200g) grated mozzarella*
olive oil, for brushing

Place water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir through the butter, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour half of the polenta into a 20cm square pan lined with non-stick baking paper (I used foil) and spread to smooth. Top with the basil, mozzarella and remaining polenta. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until set.
Cut into squares/rectangles and brush with oil. Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue over high heat. (I used my cast iron skillet, well heated) Cook the polenta for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and the cheese has melted.

Serve topped with a generous serving of the pasta sauce or a ragu of your choice. A nice green salad completes the meal.