Polenta is a good ingredient to use as an alternative to pasta or mashed potatoes. Gluten free as well as low carb. Thus there is very little not to like. In this week’s New York Times, Yotam Ottolenghi highlights the method of baked polenta. He says: “cooking polenta in the oven has turned out to be quite a game-changer for me.” Is his herby polenta with corn, eggs and feta a game-changer for a less-experienced homecook like me? Well, we’ll see.
Polenta is a delicious gruel, an elegant mush made by cooking cornmeal (or buckwheat) in salted water. In the interim, I have also experimented —successfully, to get this gruey and mushy texture with fresh or frozen corn to make polenta.
From humble origins, polenta now appears on the fanciest restaurant menus, usually served as an accompaniment to meat and fish. But it can be a main event, as this recipe shows. Serve polenta hot and runny from the pot, or cut it in slices, grill, or pan-sear it. Furthermore, polenta can have any number of sauces or vegetable ragouts on it. In other words, polenta is a versatile ingredient, worthy of our time and effort to explore.
I don’t have a large, deep ovenproof skillet that’d accommodate eight eggs. Therefore, I proceed with half the recipe, using just four large eggs. First, build the polenta mix with corn, spinach, cornmeal, Parmesan, scallions, cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. Then transfer the mix together with the specified amount of milk and stock to the large skillet. Finally, it’s time for the oven and finish off baking the polenta.
Another huge advantage is that it’s a one-pan recipe. Just the carefree and happily breezy approach for the lazy summer. No constant stirring to get the silky texture of polenta. By all measure, this recipe is more complex than it seems. In the first place, creamy polenta full of textures and surprises is paramount. Then the eggs have to be runny and embedded in it, plenty of greens and chunks of feta.
In the end, Ottolenghi does it again with a brilliant single-pan-and-oven method that brings out the best in summer corn and polenta. To top it all off, the flavor is vibrant and delicious like what you’d expect of Ottolenghi. Must try!
Herby Polenta with Corn, Eggs and Feta
Ingredients
- 9 ounces/255 grams frozen corn kernels (about 2 cups), defrosted
- 7 ounces/200 grams baby spinach (about 10 lightly packed cups), roughly torn or sliced
- 1 cup/150 grams coarse cornmeal
- 1 packed cup/50 grams finely grated Parmesan
- 5 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced, 2 tablespoons reserved for garnish
- ¼ cup/20 grams roughly chopped fresh cilantro (coriander), plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped and reserved for garnish
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 ¼ cups/530 milliliters whole milk
- 2 cups/475 milliliters chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons/40 grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 5 ounces/140 grams Greek feta, roughly crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 8 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Instructions
Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
Add the corn to a food processor and pulse once or twice, just until roughly chopped. Transfer corn to a large bowl and add the spinach, cornmeal, Parmesan, scallions, 1/4 cup cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper; stir to combine. Transfer this mixture to a large, deep, oven-proof skillet, then add the milk, stock and butter, stirring gently to mix through. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and give everything a good whisk.
Return to the oven and bake until the cornmeal is cooked through and the mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes. Give the polenta another good whisk — it should be quite smooth and not completely set — then stir in half the feta.
Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 degrees Celsius.
Remove the pan from the oven. Use a dinner spoon to make 8 shallow wells in the polenta. Crack an egg into each well and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining feta all over, and bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the reserved scallions and cilantro in a bowl with the oil. Spoon this mixture all over the polenta and eggs and sprinkle with the red-pepper flakes. Serve directly from the pan.
Notes
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020218-herby-polenta-with-corn-eggs-and-feta
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