Making a Creamy Polenta Concoction - A Recipe

I was first introduced to polenta while eating at Farestart in Seattle. A must try is their Vegetable Polenta, Sunny-Side Up which is a perfect comfort dish on a cold day - or really any day. Farestart is an amazing restaurant that takes in people from the community who have been down on their luck and gives them an environment where they can learn culinary skills and be successful in life. Farestart has a restaurant near downtown Seattle that is open for lunch and has weekly dinners that feature a guest chef from the community. Farestart is non-profit so all income goes directly into maintaining the program so it makes me feel doubly happy to go there and spend money on good food and a good cause.

Polenta, an Italian cornmeal, is typically served in a more solid, grilled form but Farestart's vegetable polenta is actually a soft and creamy polenta. Last night I picked up some polenta and did my best to recreate my favorite dish and it turned out pretty good. It was also low-calorie and incredibly filling!

Here's what I did:

- 1 White onion chopped
- 1 Orange bell pepper chopped (you choose your favorite color)
- 3 Minced garlic cloves (you can use as much or as little as you like)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Medium can tomato sauce
- 1 Package pre-cooked polenta
- 1/2 Cup Non-Fat Milk
- 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Butter

In a sauce pan or wok add the olive oil and heat at medium to medium high. Add the garlic, onion and pepper and saute until soft.

Put the entire package of polenta into a blender or food processor (or like I did - just use a hand blender in a bowl) and add half of the milk and half of the salt. Taste for saltiness and add the rest as needed. And add more milk as needed so that it's a creamy puree.

Put the polenta and half of the butter into a microwave safe dish and heat for 1 minute on high (cover with a paper towel to prevent splatters). Stir in the melted butter and taste. Add the rest of the butter as needed. Microwave for an additional minute or two until hot and make sure all the butter is completely melted and stirred in.

In another bowl mix the hot sauteed vegetables with the can of tomato sauce.

Dish a cup of the sauteed vegetables and tomato sauce into individual serving bowls and spoon over with a cup of the polenta and serve hot and enjoy.

This should make 2 to 3 generous servings.

The Farestart version also used swiss chard or kale with the vegetables which is an awesome addition. Their version is served with a sunny-side up egg on top so that you can break the yolk and mix it in to the polenta for a richer flavor. And they also top it off with a crunchy, thin baguette which is great for dipping.

I'll keep going to Farestart for their version but I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to recreate this dish on my own.