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Pesto Polenta Triangles, Balsamic White Beans with Cherry Tomatoes + Basil

P is for…Polenta!

Polenta

I was a little confused about the difference between cornmeal and polenta and the line between the two does seem to be fairly blurred. This is one opinion from the Kitchn. I tend to think of polenta as medium or coarse cornmeal and use it mainly for making cornbread (!) and cornmeal pancakes.

This post from Little Vegan Bear reminded me that it’s great on it’s own too. You can eat it creamy and soft (I like it this way for breakfast as an alternative to porridge) or pour it into a dish, cool it, cut it into shapes and bake or pan-fry until crispy.

Many people seem to think they don’t like polenta but I’m convinced that’s because they haven’t had it cooked well. It is very bland so needs plenty of seasoning to make it taste good.

I stirred in some pesto and sundried tomatoes to really amp up the flavour here and served it with some simple balsamic white beans with tomatoes and basil which complemented the dish well.

Pesto Polenta Triangles, Balsamic White Beans with Cherry Tomatoes + Basil

Pesto Polenta Triangles:

2C Water
3/4C Polenta
1/2t Salt
1/4C Non-dairy Milk (unsweetened)
1T Nutritional yeast
1 1/2T Pesto
1/4C Sundried tomatoes (oil-packed or dried + reconstituted in hot water)

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-size pan. Add the polenta and salt and turn the heat down, it might splutter so be careful! It will start to thicken quickly so whisk vigorously to avoid lumps.

If you’re using regular polenta, stir to thicken for 5-10 minutes then add the remaining ingredients. If using instant polenta it will only need about 2 minutes to thicken up.

When all ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is very thick, pour into a lightly oiled container, smooth out top and leave to cool. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cut polenta into 6 equal triangles (or shape of your choice). Heat a pan over high and add a drizzle of olive oil. Pan-fry polenta triangles for a approx 3 minutes on both sides until crisp.

Serves 2-3

Pesto Polenta Triangles, Balsamic White Beans with Cherry Tomatoes + Basil

I like to use larger white beans like butter beans here but cannellini would also work well. I love this bean dish. It’s sweet and syrupy from the balsamic and red onion, and the juicy cherry tomatoes, just beginning to collapse, burst in your mouth. Plenty of garlic and basil round everything out.

Balsamic White Beans w/Cherry Tomatoes + Basil:

1/2T Olive oil
1/2 Red onion, diced small
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1/4t Dried thyme (optional)
125g/4oz Cherry tomatoes
1 1/2C/1 Can cooked white beans
2T Balsamic vinegar
Salt + pepper

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high. Cook red onion for a few minutes until soft, add garlic and thyme and sauté for another minute. Add Cherry tomatoes and continue to cook until beginning to collapse. Finally add white beans and balsamic vinegar and cook until warm through and the balsamic has reduced.

Season with salt and pepper and serve

Serves 2-3

PRINT RECIPE HERE

Pesto Polenta Triangles, Balsamic White Beans with Cherry Tomatoes + Basil

A few dishes using polenta that I’ve got my eye on…

This Polenta topping for fruit crumble from David Lebovitz sounds a lovely way to change up my favourite oaty version

This Sweet Potato & Coconut Polenta with Asian Vegetable Fricasée sounds absolutely delicious and is really different to any other polenta dishes I’ve seen.

These South-western Bean & Cornmeal Cakes- You knew I’d feature a patty recipe didn’t you?!

Over to you…

Have you had good experiences with polenta? What do you make with it?

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Side Notes: Coconut and Berries now has a print recipe feature! Just click on the link “Print Recipe here” and you’ll be taken to a pdf showing only the recipe without the rest of the post and pictures, for easy printing. Hope it’s helpful for some of you.  

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September 23, 2013 —

← Maple-Oat Plum Crumble Curried Chickpea, Mango & Quinoa Salad: →

Comments

  1. the vegan kitchen of dr caligari says

    September 23, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    Pesto with polenta? That is simply brilliant! :)

    • Penniless Veggie says

      September 23, 2013 at 8:04 pm

      Just what I thought!

      • the vegan kitchen of dr caligari says

        September 23, 2013 at 8:08 pm

        Thank you for sharing!

      • coconutandberries says

        September 24, 2013 at 9:35 pm

        Aaaaw, thank you :)

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:35 pm

      Try it! So good :)

      • the vegan kitchen of dr caligari says

        September 25, 2013 at 5:32 pm

        I’ll do :)

  2. Yvonne says

    September 23, 2013 at 7:48 pm

    I love polenta! I’ve only recently starting using it, but I made some savory dishes and breakfast muffins with it.

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:35 pm

      Oooh breakfast muffins…? Tell me more!

      • Yvonne says

        September 26, 2013 at 2:22 am

        Try these: http://betterwithlemons.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/orange-date-and-walnut-polenta-muffins/

  3. Sharon (@GoodStuffSharon) says

    September 23, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    I’ve never had any luck cooking polenta myself, so I can’t wait to try it “your way” 😉 It looks and sounds utterly delicious!

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:37 pm

      Try it! I hope you enjoy. You could also bake the triangles. Just brush with a little oil on both sides and flip halfway through cooking.

  4. jesusan says

    September 24, 2013 at 1:42 am

    This sounds delicious! I’ve had some polenta sitting around the house for a while, and finally found a way to use it. Now I’ve got another way to use it and I’m not sure I’ll have enough left over… The one time I remember having polenta I did not care much for it, but I think your recipe could fix that. :-)

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:38 pm

      Hurrah! I hope I change your mind about polenta!

  5. Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear says

    September 24, 2013 at 11:27 am

    Yayyy polenta! That whole meal looks scrumptious :)

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:38 pm

      Thank YOU for the reminder to use it!

  6. Joanne says

    September 24, 2013 at 11:49 am

    I llooovvveee polenta! The.Boy always thinks he doesn’t like it when I put it in front of him…but then he does. So maybe people just think it doesn’t look like it should be good?

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:39 pm

      Maybe that’s it. So comforting for this time of year as well, right?

  7. Johanna GGG says

    September 24, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    Yes love polenta - your meal looks fantastic - I love polenta so many ways - one way is to bake soft polenta with tomato and cheese on top - am sure it would work well without the cheese, love cornbread and I also a few years ago (on my blog) made polenta and quinoa sticks with savoury rhubarb sauce which I loved (mmm maybe would find it different now)

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:40 pm

      That last dish sounds really interesting. I bet baked with cheese + toms is great. I actually just won a veganmofo giveaway of some vegusto cheeses so maybe I’ll try it when my prize arrives!

  8. Mihl says

    September 24, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    I love everything in this post! Polenta with pest onad tomatoes with beans are just what I could eat every day.

    • coconutandberries says

      September 24, 2013 at 9:40 pm

      I could eat this on repeat too if I didn’t love trying new things so much! I was very content with my leftovers this evening :)

  9. babette says

    September 26, 2013 at 4:54 am

    This looks fantastic! I love polenta, and your beans with tomatoes sound delish.

    • coconutandberries says

      September 26, 2013 at 12:14 pm

      That bean dish is the easiest thing ever but really tasty. Perfect companion to the polenta.

  10. Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear says

    January 29, 2014 at 11:39 am

    Yum, your polenta looks amazing! I’ve just dehydrated some tomatoes which would be perfect for this. I love the look of the salad too…especially with butter beans. It looks so fresh and lovely X

    • Coconut and Berries says

      January 29, 2014 at 2:15 pm

      Thanks Caeli :) I oven dried so many trays of home-grown tomatoes in the summer and they were so delicious. Lucky you with tomatoes at this time of year.

Trackbacks

  1. Vegan MoFo 2013- The End | Coconut and Berries says:
    October 3, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    […] The most-viewed post this month was: “P” is for…Pesto-Polenta Triangles, Balsamic White Beans with Cherry Tomatoes & Basil […]

  2. Daily Things | flora foodie says:
    January 17, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    […] Pesto polenta triangles.  Yes please.  I should make a pesto version of my polenta […]

  3. Raw Zucchini Noodles w/ Creamy Dill Sauce says:
    August 5, 2014 at 2:00 pm

    […] also love this simple recipe for Balsamic White Beans with Cherry Tomatoes & Basil, especially served alongside wedges of baked pesto polenta. […]

  4. Eating Vegan in London (Part 1) - Coconut and Berries says:
    October 26, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    […] little Soho restaurant with a fun concept- everything polenta! I’ve got quite a few polenta recipes on the blog so already appreciated polenta before eating here. However,  the varied menu […]

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