Baked Polenta with Veggies and Marinara

We wanted to try something new, something that would be a more traditional Italian dish that you wouldn't normally find at Italian restaurants. This is what we made, and it ended up being one of our favorite meals so far.

polenta recipe

ingredients:

1 3/4 cups of organic polenta cornmeal

6 cups of water

3 tablespoons of organic extra virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking veggies

1 organic zucchini, sliced

1 organic Yukon Gold potato, sliced

1 large organic tomato, diced

1 small organic yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 cloves of organic garlic

Sea salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

recipe:

i. In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then stir in the polenta and sea salt. Turn on low heat and add olive oil, then let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.

ii. Spoon polenta evenly into a large baking pan and refrigerate until it has cooled.

iii. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

iv. Place tomato, onion and garlic in a baking pan, then drizzle with olive oil and bake until tomatoes have slightly shrunken and onion has browned.

v. Put tomatoes, onion and garlic into a food processor and combine until they form a sauce. Salt and pepper to your liking.

vi. From here, pour the sauce into a small saucepan and add your preferred seasonings and spices (our marinara is a secret) then bring to a boil, turn heat to low, cover and let simmer until you are ready to pour over polenta.

vii. Take polenta out of refrigerator, then place potato and zucchini in the same baking pan in which you cooked the tomato and onion, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place both the veggies and polenta in 375 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft in the middle but still hold their texture and polenta is thoroughly heated.

viii. Cut polenta into squares, then top with veggies and marinara and serve.

makes 6 servings

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