This creamy textured baked polenta with roasted tomatoes and spinach will give you one more option for your meal. This 9-ingredient dish is very easy to prepare and a great option for busy weeknights.
As I was brought up eating only Indian foods I (and Tushar too) never had polenta dishes before coming to the USA. It is only when I started exploring healthy options for our meals, I came to know about this ‘polenta’ thing. Like myself, if you have no idea about polenta, it is a dish made from coarse cornmeal and is very common in Italian, French and Swiss cuisine. I am feeling very glad that I explored this option as polenta is not only delicious but healthy too. If you are familiar with polenta you will agree with me that polenta is super delicious and versatile to make into different recipes.
How this baked polenta is healthy?
This recipe is healthy because it contains:
- Polenta: it is made from coarsely ground cornmeal, that belongs to the whole grain category (see food pyramid). It is a low carb food.
- fresh vegetables (spinach and tomato)
- goat cheese: lower in fat, calories and cholesterol compared with bovine counterparts.
In this recipe, I used pre-made organic polenta brought from a local grocery store. It comes in a cylindrical shaped plastic pack. However, I will later update this recipe with polenta made using cornmeal at home.
Baked polenta with grape tomatoes and spinach
Ingredients
- 2 cup Polenta (grated or thinly cut)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut into halves
- 1 handful of spinach chopped
- 2 tbsp goat cheese
- 1 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock or water
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 1-2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 400 F
- Heat oil in a medium pan on medium heat. Add garlic and saute it for about 30-45 sec
- Add polenta and chicken stock; let it boil and then lower the heat. Add goat cheese and simmer the mixture with frequent stirring for about 5 mins. Then season with salt and pepper
- Transfer the polenta to baking pan. Top it up with spinach and tomatoes and sprinkle some parmesan cheese over it. Bake it for about 20 mins at 400 F. Serve warm
Notes
- This recipe can be made using cornmeal and making polenta from scratch.
- To enjoy creamy texture of polenta, serve it warm as it tends to tighten up on cooling down.
Nutrition
Hello,
I really enjoyed this recipe, thank you for sharing it. I think almost any cheese will go well with this, not just goat cheese. I had it with a smoked mozzarella style cheese. I have two nutritional corrections. Polenta and cornmeal are very high in carbs (in fact they are almost entirely made of carbs), so your statement above about it being carb free is wrong. Also, goat milk and cheese have a slightly higher fat content than cow’s milk, the opposite of what you stated above. I would not let either of these facts stop me from making this recipe because it is so tasty and provides a hearty dose of veggies and other nutrients, but for people on a diet these may be important things to keep in mind.