Polenta with Roasted Vegetables

from Cooking Light

For the polenta you can either use premade polenta in a tube or cook up a batch of your own and pour into a lightly oiled glass for a tube shape or into a lightly oiled jelly roll pan. I like to do this in the morning to give the polenta enough time to cool and set. I really like the Quick Microwave Polenta recipe over at the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. It’s fast and simple, although I recommend giving the polenta a few more stirs while it is cooking to prevent lumps.

The original recipe calls for about 7 cups of vegetables for 4 people but no matter how many vegetables go on the jelly roll pan they cook down to a significantly smaller amount. I used two zucchini, one yellow squash, one medium sized eggplant, and six shallot-sized red onions and we still had just enough vegetables for the two of us. Feel free to use any vegetables you like as long as they have similar roasting times.

The Roasted Vegetable cookbook by Andrea Chesman has a chart of cooking times, temperatures, and preparation for vegetables on pages 5 and 6  (which you can view on Amazon using the Look Inside! feature) if you’re looking for a general reference.

You can also sauté the polenta on the stove top while the vegetables or still roasting to save some time but I do like the crisp texture of broiled polenta better.

Yield

2 servings

Ingredients

• 2-3 medium yellow squash and/or  zucchini, cut into 1″ chunks
• 1 medium sized eggplant, cut into 1″ chunks
• 1  red onion, cut into 1″ chunks
• olive oil to coat
• 1/3  cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon  balsamic vinegar (red wine vinegar is also good)
• black pepper, to taste
• 1  (16-ounce) tube polenta or one recipe Quick Microwave Polenta
• salt, to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 475°.

Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Bake at 475° for 25 minutes or until tender, stirring after 15 minutes. In a large bowl combine basil, vinegar, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Scoop roasted vegetables into bowl, stir and cover to keep warm.

Preheat broiler. Place polenta slices on a baking sheet lighted coated with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Broil 7 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Spoon roasted vegetables over polenta. Enjoy!