eclaire (what’s in a) name?

i love polenta. it is one of my all time favorite foods — if, and only if, it is made from scratch. the first time i spied tubes of polenta at trader joe’s i literally squealed with delight and threw a package into my cart, imagining all sorts of possible delightful dinners. but when i got home and opened said tube, i was thoroughly disappointed. the polenta did not have a good texture, taste, or consistency, so i made the decision never to buy the tubed stuff again. the from-scratch-kind of polenta tastes like fresh corn, is creamy and smooth, and can be eaten porridge-like or allowed to congeal (sorry, k, know you hate that word!) into a smooth base for toppings. the latter is the way i prefer polenta, and even though it is a little time consuming, it’s a fantastic treat and quite simple to make.

as we were grocery shopping this weekend, we couldn’t help but be impressed by the amazing plethora of fresh veggies and herbs in the store. so we decided to bring home one of the huge bunches of basil that was too tall to fit into a grocery bag, as well as some gorgeous locally grown mayan squashes, to create a delicious late summer treat that created leftovers for lunch for almost the whole week.

pesto polenta

yields 6 servings

pesto is adapted from eat, drink & be vegan – if you don’t have time to make pesto, a canned tomato or pesto sauce would taste almost as yummy, but you should hang onto this recipe – this is the best pesto i’ve tasted

• polenta
  
• 4c water or vegetable broth
• 1c polenta
• 1t salt
• 4T butter or fake butter
• 1c soy milk or regular milk

• pesto
  
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 3T lemon juice
• 3/4t salt
• 1/2t pepper
• 2T olive oil
• 1T water
• 1c cashews (we used pecans the second time we made this and loved that, too!)
• 1 big bunch basil, stems removed

• veggies and cheese
• pick your favorite seasonal veggies – we chose mayan squash, zucchini, and mushrooms
• pick your favorite 8oz cheese – we used soysations mozzarella
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1. for polenta: boil water or veg broth in saucepan
2. add polenta and salt and stir constantly for 15 minutes, or until thick
3. add the butter and milk and stir for another 10 minutes over low heat
4. pour into 9×13 pan and allow to cool for a bit in fridge while you work on the rest of the dish
5. for pesto: in a food processor (or blender), combine garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, olive oil, water, nuts, and basil and puree until smooth
6. pull the polenta out of the fridge and smooth over the top
7. for veggies and cheese: slice veggies and place on top of the pesto
8. grate the cheese and sprinkle on top of that
9. put the dish into a 350º oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until everything is bubbly and enjoy!