Polenta & Roasted Vegetables

This is my absolute favourite supper or lunch dish and it’s real comfort food!  I’m the only polenta lover in the household, so I get to eat all of it.  My love of polenta stems from childhood summers spent in Apold, Transylvania, where my aunts would make it on a regular basis.  It is a staple food in Romania, where it appears on the table in many shapes and forms.  Enjoying it with sour cream and fresh sheep’s cheese was pure heaven!

I buy my easy cook polenta from my local supermarket.  It’s easy to use and cooks in around five minutes.  In fact, this whole recipe is so simple, yet so tasty.

You will need:

100g polenta

400ml boiling water

1 yellow or red pepper finely sliced

1 small onion finely sliced

a good handful of cherry tomatoes

1 large clove of garlic chopped

Olive oil

Seasoning and a few herbs if you like

1 vegetable stock cube

Feta or goats cheese cut into small cubes

Method:

1. Roast the veggies, well seasoned, in olive oil

2. Add the polenta to the pan of boiling water

3. Crumble in a vegetable stock cube to give it more flavour

4. Stir the mixture continuously with a whisk or wooden spoon (do this as the polenta can rise in the pan like a volcano!)

5. Bring back to the boil and simmer for approximately 5-8 minutes

6. Place the polenta in your favourite bowl

7. Scatter the vegetable mix on top, followed by the cheese

Curl up on the sofa and enjoy!

Alternatively you can place the polenta in a shallow dish and let it set.  I then cut into chunky chips, sprinkle a few chilli flakes on top and bake in the oven.

Whilst the polenta is cooking in the pan you can stir in sour cream, crème fraiche, or grate in any kind of cheese.