Stripy courgette, tomato and polenta tart

New cookbooks can be a lovely surprise, a big disappointment or something in between – even with the “Search Inside” feature at Amazon I’ve had my share of regret buying some of them.

My latest purchase, however, was an epic win: I got Annie Rigg’s beautiful cookbook on fruit and Georgina Fuggle’s Take One Veg, and they’re both insanely beautiful – I feel like making each and every recipe on both of them, for there is nothing tricky despite the deliciousness of everything.

I made one of Rigg’s recipes and it was wonderful, but more on that later on this week – Georgina’s idea of using polenta as a tart base was such a hit at home that I had to share it with you: even my husband ate it gladly, and that is certainly something not to be taken lightly. The tart was a cinch to make and served with a green salad it was a delicious meal, one that I plan on repeating with different vegetables.

Stripy courgette, tomato and polenta tart
slightly adapted from the absolutely delicious Take One Veg: Over 100 Tempting Veggie Recipes for Simple Suppers, Packed Lunches and Weekend Cooking

Crust:
500ml hot vegetable stock
140g polenta - since the recipe doesn't state what kind of polenta it is, I used this one (I was out of instant polenta)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Filling:
2 tablespoons crème fraîche – I used homemade sour cream
1 small courgette, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced into thin slices
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Start by making the polenta crust: bring the vegetable stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan and pour the polenta into the water. Keep your pan over a low heat and, using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly, thrashing out any lumps that try to form. Continue for around 6 minutes until the polenta is very thick.
Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan and stir until they have disappeared. Cool for 5 minutes, then stir through the beaten egg and season with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly – in the meatime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

Lightly grease a square 21cm tart pan with olive oil (I used butter). Put the polenta in the centre and, using a spatula or oiled fingers, gently tease it up the sides of the pan to create the sides of the crust.
Smother a thin layer of crème fraîche over the base of your tart and top with half the Parmesan. On top of the cheese, alternate slices of courgette and tomato. Finish with the thyme leaves and the remaining Parmesan.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C/350°F and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove and allow the tart to cool for 5-10 minutes to allow it to ‘come to’. Serve in slices.

Serves 4 – I made the recipe above using a 30x10cm (12x4in) tart pan – there was a bit of polenta left that I formed into pancake, grilled on both sides with a tiny bit of olive oil until golden and topped with cheese and dried oregano for a snack (there is a photo here).

The recipes says it serves 4, but the tart I made was polished off by 2 served with a green salad! :)

Lemon and polenta cake (gluten free) + movies, movies, movies

Being away for two weeks left me out of the loop of new releases and movies to long for, not to mention I had no idea what was on theaters here – time to catch up.

On the weekend, I went to the movies with my sister – we hadn’t done that since Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, too long! – and we watched Lucy: I liked the movie a lot, and it is always wonderful to see movies with leading ladies kick ass in the box office, shutting up idiots who think that women don’t make money when it comes to movies (let’s all remember Cate Blanchett’s Oscar speech months ago, shall we?). :)

Some more good news: I was glad to find out that Gone Girl will be hitting Brazilian theaters one day before the American release, which was a relief since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo premiered here in Brazil a month after its American release. Yay! \0/

As for what to long for, I saw the trailer for Low Down and can’t wait to know when the movie will be released, not only because it is a great trailer but also because of the amazing cast: I fell in love with John Hawkes after he blew me away three times in a row, being outstanding in Winter’s Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Sessions (and being robbed of an Oscar nomination for the latter). Anyone who watched Super 8 knows how talented Elle Fanning is, and what to say about Glenn Close? <3 <3 <3

After getting up to speed with movies, I did the same with my kitchen: I hadn’t baked in quite a while and was desperate for freshly baked cake. I made a honey cake that turned out delicious, but since I haven’t been able to work on the photos yet I bring you an equally tasty cake, something I baked before my trip; I bumped into this recipe while searching for yet another lemon cake recipe and I wasn’t disappointed: moist, tangy and delicious, I am sure it will please those of you who like lemon cakes as much as I do.


Lemon and polenta cake (gluten free)
slightly adapted from the delicious Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

150g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
165g unsalted butter, softened
juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
185g almond meal (finely ground almonds)
75g instant polenta
35g corn starch
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20x10cm (6-cup capacity) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Place sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add butter and beat until very light and creamy. Add the lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition – batter might look curdled.
Mix together the ground almonds, polenta, corn flour, baking powder and salt and fold into the mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Carefully unmold and remove the paper. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Serves 6-8

Polenta and ricotta chips and cooking from scratch

As I told you yesterday, I love making things from scratch if and when I have time for that, and the recipe I bring you today is a good example of that: in these delicious polenta and ricotta chips, I used homemade vegetable stock, homemade ricotta and homemade tomato sauce.

The vegetable stock is a precious hint I got from a good friend of mine: she makes her stock with the skins peeled off the vegetables (carrots and potatoes, for example), mushroom stems, parsley and basil stalks, the green end of leeks, that is, all the tidbits that would end up in the garbage. I’ve been making stock her way for a long time and always have some stashed in the freezer, and that is the one I used to cook this polenta.

The tomato sauce is the one I make over and over again, with canned tomatoes and lots of fresh basil, oregano and thyme, and it’s the one my husband eats by the spoonful if left to his own devices – if there’s bread in the house I have to make sure he doesn’t eat the whole batch of sauce with it before I even have the chance to proceed with whatever I was making in the first place. :D

And the ricotta is a recipe from the wonderful Donna Hay magazine I got years ago, 2009 to be more precise, and from that moment on I’ve never used store-bought ricotta again – I’ve been using this homemade ricotta for all sorts of things, always with amazing results. It has great texture and flavor and it is quick to make. Back then I used to line the colander with fine muslin, but a while ago I bought a fine mesh strainer and it does the job perfectly without the cloth.

This post might sound like a nightmare for those of you who don’t like making things from scratch, and I’m not here to preach, but believe me when I say that besides tasting a lot better than the store-bought versions they’re all easy to make – not to mention they’re very budget friendly, especially the vegetable stock.

I know it may seem like a bore to turn each polenta chip after their first 20 minutes in the oven, but that was the way I found to make them crisp and golden without frying (which was called for in the original recipe) – please don’t hate me. :)

Polenta and ricotta chips
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay magazine

2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
1 cup (170g) instant polenta
1 cup (80g) finely grated parmesan
25g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g ricotta*
canola oil, for brushing
tomato sauce, for serving

Place the stock in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Gradually add the polenta, whisking continuously for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the parmesan, butter, salt and pepper. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the ricotta and fold through to combine. Spoon and press the polenta into a lightly buttered 20cm (8in) square cake pan and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush it lightly with oil.
Remove the polenta from the pan and slice into thick chips. Arrange them on the prepared sheet 1cm apart. Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully turn each chip and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Serve immediately with the tomato sauce.

* I used homemade ricotta: 3 cups (720ml) whole milk = 200g ricotta

Serves 4

Polentanella (polenta tomato and basil salad) and three characters that seem to be the same

As I was watching Hannibal a couple of days ago I noticed something about Raúl Esparza: I have seen three different TV shows with him and he seems to be playing the same character in all of them. His Dr. Chilton isn’t much different from Rafael Barba, and the latter is quite similar to the ADA he portrayed in Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

I get that not every actor is Leonardo DiCaprio or Christian Bale, but it would be nice to see Esparza playing something different – perhaps he’s just typecast (hello, Ray Liotta).

Changes are good for actors – back in the 80s who could have thought that Tom Hanks would turn into such a talented drama actor? – and it’s good when it comes to food, too: this is nothing more than a panzanella salad in which the bread has been replaced by crispy polenta pieces. I thought it was delicious and with the addition of mozzarella it became a substantial meal, great for summer days.

Polentanella (polenta tomato and basil salad)
adapted from the always wonderful Delicious Australia

400ml vegetable stock
400ml water
200g instant polenta
40g grated parmesan
½ cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil
450g cherry tomatoes
½ onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup roasted peppers, drained, chopped
3 tablespoons capers, drained
2 small Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
handful fresh basil leaves
250g fresh buffalo mozzarella, torn

Grease a 20cm (8in) square pan. Combine the water and stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the polenta and stir until smooth. Over medium heat cook until thickened. Remove, stir in the parmesan, season with salt and pepper, then spread out on prepared pan. Let cool, then refrigerate until set (about 1 hour).
Preheat the oven to 220°C and line a large baking sheet with foil.
turn out the polenta and cut into 2cm thick strips, then break into 2cm pieces. place them onto the lined sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. bake for 30 minutes or until the polenta turn crisp and golden. Halve half of the cherry tomatoes and add them to the baking sheet with the polenta. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes or until soften.
Dressing: place the onion and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. add the remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.
In a large bowl, combine the fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers, capers, cucumber and half the basil, pour over the dressing and toss gently to combine. add the roasted tomatoes and polenta bits and toss again. top with the mozzarella and remaining basil and serve.

Serves 4 generously

Lemon cornmeal cake with lemon glaze and the book I'll read next

Thank you for your comments on my issue with “The Great Gatsby” – I feel much better now. :)
I already have something else to read, Somerset Maugham’s "Of Human Bondage", a book suggested by my good friend Cristina – I’ll try to balance it with my cookbooks since I don’t plan on stop cooking and baking.

I started cooking when I was very young and my grandmother and my great-aunt would give me instructions over the phone, which I would carefully and in a very detailed way write down to follow in the kitchen afterwards. If anything, anything at all turned out differently from the ladies’ information I would call them immediately so they could help me solve the problem. I can’t tell you how many days were spent that way – those women are somehow responsible for all the treats you guys see here on this blog. They were the ones that kept me going, even after small disasters in the kitchen. And now, after many, many years, I continue to prepared food, and that gives me tons of pleasure. The more I cook and bake the more I feel confident enough to make changes, to adapt recipes – I guess that maybe you feel the same way. This cake, for instance, called for mascarpone to be mixed into the batter, but I decided to use heavy cream instead, since the Italian cheese is made with cream. It worked really well: the cake turned out fantastic, tender and full of lemon flavor, thanks to the syrup poured over it while still hot from the oven. And to make this recipe even more perfect, the butter is melted, so there is no need to wait for it to soften (which can take forever in the cold days we’ve been having here).

I guess both grandma and aunt Angelica would be proud. :)

Lemon cornmeal cake with lemon glaze
slightly adapted from the delicious The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle

Cake:
220g all-purpose flour
115g medium-ground yellow cornmeal – I used polenta
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream
4 large eggs
265g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Lemon syrup:
½ cup (120ml) fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar

Lemon glaze:
175g confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan, line it with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, zest, baking powder, and salt.
Place the cream in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then the sugar and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients in two batches. Stir in the butter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until risen and golden and a skewer comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Towards the end of the baking time, make the lemon syrup: combine the lemon juice and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.
Cool the cake for 5 minutes in the pan over a wire rack. With a toothpick, poke a few dozen holes all over the top of the cake, then brush the cake with the lemon syrup until all the syrup is absorbed.
Cool completely in the pan.
Carefully unmold the cake, peel off the paper and invert it back onto a plate.
Make the glaze: sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. Add the cream and the lemon juice, stirring until you get a drizzable consistency. Pour over the cake and allow to set, about 30 minutes.

Serves 8-10

Apple and polenta cake + a surprise from Cannes

I must confess that reading that “Blue is the Warmest Color” had won the Palme d’Or surprised me quite a bit: not because of the film itself – I haven’t seen it yet so I can’t judge – but because I would never expect a jury presided by Steven Spielberg, a director who very seldom makes adult films, would vote for such a bold film. Maybe Ang Lee had something to do with it (he should have been chosen President of the Jury imo). And even if it was a political choice as some believe it was I’m still surprised, for Spielberg was never the controversial one. I just hope “Blue is the Warmest Color” gets distributed here in Brazil, and soon – I would not like to wait for it as much as I had to for “Drive”.

Something else surprised me weeks ago: Amber Rose’s beautiful cookbook. I don’t worry about nutrition when I bake – I think that if you’re eating a slice of cake or a brownie it’s about pleasure, leave the nutrient talk for your lunch and/or dinner - but I ended up finding Rose’s approach to baking a very interesting one. This cake, for instance, is sweetened with honey instead of sugar, and the result is excellent. Just make sure you use a variety of honey you’re fond of because the flavor is definitely noticed in the cake.

Apple and polenta cake
slightly adapted from the beautiful beyond words Love Bake Nourish (I bought mine here)

Apples:
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
2 ½ tablespoons honey
450g Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm dice

Cake:
1 cup (100g) almond meal
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (115g) all purpose flour
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (110g) cornmeal
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
150ml honey
½ cup (130g) plain yogurt
3 large eggs
140ml olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep the apples: melt the butter and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and bubble until it caramelizes a little. Add the apples and cook over medium-high heat until the apple pieces are golden and the syrup is sticky, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, all purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, juice, honey, yogurt, eggs, olive oil and vanilla until well combined. Pour into the dry ingredients and fold until combined. Stir in the apples.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then carefully unmold. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Serves 8-10

Pistachio polenta pound cake

People usually ask me for advice in baking and cooking and one thing I always tell them is to read the entire recipe before actually making it: it is important to know all the details prior to preparation. That is something I learned the hard way: I can’t tell you how many times I’d already be making something, looking forward to eating it only to read “refrigerate overnight” in the middle of the recipe. :S
Having said that, because of this pistachio and polenta cake I might start recommending reading the recipe twice: I did read the recipe and, knowing I had all the ingredients at home I went to the kitchen to make it. Oven preheated and ingredients before me, I started making the recipe only to read “whisk the yogurt and cornmeal in a medium bowl and let it stand for 45 minutes”. My brain or my eyes somehow skipped that piece of information, and I had to go back to the couch and wait longer to have a slice of this beauty – at least it tasted great and it was worth the waiting. :D

Pistachio polenta pound cake
from the absolutely great Cake Keeper Cakes

1 ½ cups (390g) plain yogurt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (195g) shelled unsalted pistachios
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk the yogurt and cornmeal in a medium bowl and let it stand for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 12-cup capacity Bundt pan.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Grind ¾ cup (97g) of the pistachios finely in a food processor (grind them with a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture to avoid turning the nuts into a paste). Add the pistachio meal to the dry ingredients. Coarsely chop the remaining pistachios.
Place the butter and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla.
On low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the yogurt mixture in two additions. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in the chopped pistachios.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10-15 minutes then carefully invert it onto the rack. Cool completely before serving.

Serves 10-12

Polenta-crusted roasted ratatouille tart

Thank you all for your comments and concern – your positive thoughts and kind words were very important for my getting better, for sure!

I have been thinking a lot about sweets lately – due to Christmas coming and the gifts I want to make for my friends and colleagues. I have so many recipes bookmarked I don’t even know where to start, really...

I found this recipe going through cookie and candy recipes for the holidays. I have no idea why it was filed in my sweet folder, but I considered it a sign. I’d rather have a sign like this than the one Francesca had in Tuscany. Eeew! :)

Polenta-crusted roasted ratatouille tart
slightly adapted from here and here

Crust:
1 cup (155g) instant polenta
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon + a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons water

Filling:
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, thinly sliced
1 small eggplant, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
dried oregano
fresh oregano leaves, to taste
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese – I used the yellow mozzarella we have here, made with cow’s milk and that looks similar to Monterrey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Start with the filling: preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºC. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Spray 2 baking trays with cooking spray. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices on the trays in a single layer and brush with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle the tomatoes with dried oregano and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from oven and cool.

Now, the crust: lower the oven temperature to 180ºC/350ºF.
Combine polenta, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor – I used my Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small pebbles. Add water and pulse until mixture forms a loose dough. Remove dough from processor and press into bottom and sides of a lightly oiled 24cm tart pan with a removable bottom (my pan doesn’t have very high sides).
Press aluminum foil or baking paper over the dough weigh down with uncooked rice, beans or pie weights. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and remove rice and foil. Return to oven, rise the temperature to 200ºC/400ºF and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes, or until no longer shiny and wet. Remove from oven and let cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 180ºC/350ºF.
Lay the eggplant slices on the bottom of tart; cover with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and some of oregano leaves. Add the zucchini and onion, top with another 1/3 of the mozzarella and oregano, then the tomatoes. Top with rest of the mozzarella cheese, oregano leaves and the parmesan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and vegetables have further wilted.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before unmolding it. Serve warm.

Serves 6

Grilled cheese and basil polenta

I never thought this would happen, but it did. Donna Hay disappointed me.

It was last Saturday – my Amazon box arrived and I couldn’t wait to go through my new cookbooks. Donna’s book looked so adorable and cute... I started to flip the pages, eager to choose the first recipe to prepare. Unfortunately, as I glanced at the photos there was only one thing going on in my mind – “I’ve already seen this. And this. And this one, too.”
Several of those recipes had been published in other Donna Hay’s books and magazines – the ones on my bookshelf. :(

I’m not interested in buying cookbooks with recipes I already own and I guess you aren’t either – that’s why I thought you should know about this. I have deleted the other “Simple Essentials” volumes from my wish list.

To remind me of how wonderful Donna’s recipes are, I prepared this polenta (from her magazine, issue 40). I’ll tell you, my friends: this is what I call reconciliation. :)

Grilled cheese and basil polenta
from Donna Hay magazine

3 cups (750ml) water
1 cup (170g) instant polenta
60g butter, chopped
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. Cook the polenta for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and the cheese has melted. Serve with pan-fried veal cutlets, grilled lamb or steak and baby spinach.

* I used the yellow mozzarella we have here, that seems to be really similar to Monterey Jack

Serves 2 - I think it can serve 4, depending on what you serve it with

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.



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