Friday, August 17, 2007

Parsley polenta with balsamic tomatoes

Parsley polenta with balsamic tomatoes

One of the bad things about living in São Paulo is the huge traffic jams I have to face every single day; it takes me forever to get to work and then to get back home. So exhausting.

I don’t know what happened in one of these days but the streets were so free that I arrived home in less then 40 minutes! A miracle! That deserved a celebration – a delicious dinner that I put together in 20 minutes.

WHB

This recipe was really good so I’m submitting it to the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Zorra, from the blog Kochtopf.

Parsley polenta with balsamic tomatoes
adapted from Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry

4 ripe tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons basil leaves

Polenta:
2 cups (480ml) hot water
2 cups (480ml) milk
1 cup quick cook polenta*
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
60g (2 oz) butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Place the tomatoes, cut side down, in an ovenproof ceramic dish. Combine the oil, balsamic, sugar and basil and pour over the tomatoes. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.
Make the polenta while the tomatoes are roasting. Place the water and milk in a saucepan over medium to high heat and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the polenta, stirring, for 3-5 minutes. Stir through the parmesan, parsley, butter, pepper and salt.
To serve, spoon the polenta onto serving plates. Top with the tomatoes and the pan juices. Finish with extra parmesan and serve.

* I made the polenta little bit thicker because that’s how João likes it.

Serves 4

Parsley polenta with balsamic tomatoes

44 comments:

Nora B. said...

Lovely dish, Patricia. I love balsamic tomatoes. And pairing it with the polenta is such a terrific idea.
p/s: wow, you have to be in your car a long time.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Such a lovely combination, the sweet-tart tomatoes and the richness of the polenta. I just watched Anthony Bourdain's show about Sao Paulo, so now I can picture that traffic!

Anonymous said...

I bet this is delicious and I love that it comes together so quickly.

Anh said...

Delicious! I am a big fan of every ingredients that you have here. And the way you cook them is perfect!

Susan said...

Urban commutes can be hell, but this quick meal is a nice little taste of heaven to come home to. I'm a big fan of polenta, Patricia - so comforting - pile my plate high, please!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Commuting is just the pits so a fast trip once in a while is like heaven. I think the creamy polenta with the tart/sweet balsamic must be a little heaven too!

eatme_delicious said...

i have yet to try making polenta, and yours looks really good! i love balsamic vinegar on things.

Pat said...

That sounds like such a lovely combination!!! Love tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Just learning about polenta and it's versatility! YUM!

Anonymous said...

I love the balsamico tomatoes!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

Patricia - This dish looks lovely. I really enjoy polenta, and sometimes forget that it can be cooked so quickly, or even prepared in advance. In one of my classes, we actually deep fried slices and used it as the base for crostini! It was amazing!

Maggie said...

Looks delicious. What a wonderful way to flavour polenta.

sunita said...

A nice meal to enjoy after a hectic day...and so quick too!!!

Cynthia said...

What a tasty combo, Patricia. I bet those tomatoes were doing a dance in your mouth, bursting with flavour.

Mandy said...

When I first saw the picture, I couldn't guess that the reddish thingy was tomato! :)Thanks for the recipe, Patricia. I can make it for our weekly vegetarian meal.

Janet said...

Wow - that is some crazy traffic... if 40 minutes is fast, I wonder what a regular day would be? This looks wonderful, I really enjoy polenta!

Figs, Bay, Wine said...

I love the syrupy balsamic with the polenta here. What a beautifully comforting dinner!

Anonymous said...

This looks so yummy and seems so easy to prepare! Polenta is not something I grew up with but I see it at the delis here...maybe I'll try it with this recipe :)

Aimée said...

Great looking dish! I love polenta.

test it comm said...

This looks good. I really like roasting tomatoes in oil, balsamic vinegar and basil, though I usually turn them into a pasta.

Kalyn Denny said...

Sounds just delicious. I think roasted tomatoes just can't turn out bad, no matter how you do it!

Anonymous said...

Sounds delicious. I love balsamic vinegar, so this has got be fabulous.

ilingc said...

ooh yum. Patricia this sounds fabulous. I love tomatoes and balsamic and just started getting into polenta. I think you have a winner here! :)

Amy said...

This dish looks so delicious comforting! I just bought some red potatoes from the market so now I know what to make.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Nora, thank you. I do drive for a long time every day, it's really bad. But at least that is a good thing when it's very cold or raining.

Lydia, now you know I'm not overreacting. I can't wait for them to air the show here, so I can see which places they chose to go to.

Kristen, dinner in a heart beat, sweetie. :)

Anh, I love tomatoes and love polenta, so I was pretty happy with this dish. :)

Susan, you are so right - one good thing as a sort of reward. :)
I'll serve you seconds as well, if you want, sweetie!

Tanna, I agree - and the food was a moment of happiness. :)

Delicious, you definitely should try it!

Pat, it is very versatile, you can have it so many different ways!

Zorra, thank you!

T.W., we eat deep fried polenta here in São Paulo a lot, but not the way you mention here - I'm intrigued, it is amazing, I bet!

Margaret, thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

Sunita, very quick!

Cynthia, they were so good, my dear friend.

Mandy, I hope you like it!

Janet, it takes me more than 1 hour, sweetie. Very tiring.

Amanda, thank you, dear!

Joey, very easy and quick. I think you are going to love polenta.

Aimée, thank you, sweetie! Me too. :)

Kevin, that idea sounds delicious. :)

Kalyn, I'm so glad you like my post!

Lynn, balsamic vinegar really adds a different and wonderful touch to these tomatoes.

Ilingc, thank you! Both Joao and I were pleased with this food.

Amy, let me know what you do with the potatoes.

Belinda said...

I live out in the country, and my "commute" is walking from the house to the horse barn! lol I would hate to have to deal with traffic on an everyday basis. I love this idea for sprucing up tomatoes...very nice, and it sounds delicious with the polenta. :-)

Stella said...

I've always used balsamic in salad, never thought about including them in tomatoes!
What a super dish Pat!

Anonymous said...

Goodness gracious...that looks like a match made in heaven. I love the taste of balsamic vinegar on tomatoes (or probably anything, let's be honest.) Delicious photos too! :)

Wendy said...

Sounds wonderful! I haven't tried making polenta yet. You've inspire me...

Everything4sweets said...

I wish I can find polenta in here, your picture is making me hungry.

Kelly-Jane said...

So comforting, and so good!

You did really well to cook this after getting home :) Traffic makes me very cranky!

Andreea said...

hello, i've just tagged you for a 4x4 meme. hope you don't mind. if you have alredy done (or don't feel like it) no worries :)

Lucy said...

What a gorgeous, fast meal.

Can't wait for the tomatoes to come back in season!

Anonymous said...

When I was working in London I had the same problem with traffic + a crazy work schedule - but somehow I found relief in coming home and cooking! I can not resist tomatoes with balsamic vinegar (my uncle made them for me as a child!) and look forward to trying your recipe :)

Cris said...

Move here!!! Big city with low traffic! These baked tomatoes Patricia... I am going to try them soon... Have a great day!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Belinda, it's a quick commute! :)
I'm glad you liked this recipe. I'd certainly trade a plate of this polenta for a slice of that sinful chocolate cheesecake you made. ;)

Valentina, thank you, dear!

Hillary, I love balsamic vinegar, too. :)

Wendy, you should try it, sweetie!

Everything 4 sweets,

Kelly-Jane, it makes me cranky, too. :)

Andreea, I've been tagged already, but thanks!

Lucy, tks for the visit!

Erika, tks for stopping by! Food can be very therapeutic in days like these! :)

Cris, I used to go to Campinas a lot as a child, who knows? I think I like the idea. ;)

Anonymous said...

What a great dish. Oh and I so love polenta!

Anonymous said...

Patricia--Each dish alone sounds delicious. And paired? Excellent! I'm also thinking that just a bit of uncooked chopped basil and parsley on their respective dishes might pump up the herb flavor even more.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Herbed polenta sounds very versdaltile paired with many different dishes. The roasted tomato combination sounds full flavoured. Don't you just love tomatoes this time of year?????

lululu said...

Quick, simple and hearty dinner!!!!

Ilva said...

I just tagged you, do it if you feel like it!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

That looked so good I can taste it. Yums!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Veron, thank you! I love it too!

Terry, I love your idea - gonna try it next time.

Valli, tomatoes are great in so many dishes, so many ways!

Lu, tks, sweetie!

Ilva, I'm gonna check that out later, tks!

East Meets West, I'm glad you like it!

Thistlemoon said...

Delicious, delicious, delicious!

That is about all I can say about this wonderful dish!

Paola Westbeek said...

Wow! I am mad about balsamic and this looks like a winning combination!

paola

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