Creamy Polenta With Summer Garden Veggies

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summer veggie polenta

Since I started this blog way back in 2007 ( next month will be 13 years!) I have posted many different polenta recipes, needless to say we adore polenta in our house.

If you do a search here on my blog you’ll find polenta muffins, polenta biscotti, a polenta tart, croutons, grilled polenta and many different ways to serve it with meat, eggs and various vegetables that are highlighted during the seasons.

 

polenta with veggies

Today I made a creamy polenta that showcases all the summer garden veggies like corn and zucchini that are readily available right now. It’s a fun and very delicious way to highlight both.

polenta ingredients

I use instant polenta which takes no time at all to cook up, and if you prep a few of the other ingredients ahead of time, this comes together quickly.

I roasted a pint of cherry tomatoes the other day and I had some grilled corn leftover from the weekend so I added zucchini and yellow squash and picked some fresh basil from my garden. Just a few ingredients makes such a spectacular meal, but this can also serve as a side dish with something you cook up on the grill.

I also like to serve this up alongside grilled shrimp, it’s such a nice combo!

whisking polentapolenta and veggies

So all you have to do is whisk up some creamy polenta, top it off with julienned strips of zucchini, smokey charred corn along with sweet, juicy roasted cherry tomatoes. Polenta tends to firm up after it sits for a while so if you have leftovers no problem, cut it into wedges and serve it like a pizza!

A summertime dish you won’t forget!

Creamy Polenta With Summer Garden Veggies
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 2 ears of grilled corn with planks cut off the cob, make some planks along with the kernals
  • 1 small zucchini, julienned
  • 1 small yellow squash, julienned
  • a squeeze of fresh lemon
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, rainbow colored
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • fresh basil
  • olive oil
  • FOR THE POLENTA
  • 1 cup of instant polenta
  • 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth preferably, or water
  • ½ cup parmigiano cheese
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped basil
  • additional ¼ cup or so of water to thin it out a bit if needed at the end
Instructions
  1. Prep your tomatoes by placing them whole on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle generously with olive oil all over and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if made the day before just warm them up a bit the day of.
  2. Roast at 400 until they burst and all the juices mingle with the oil.
  3. Grill both ears of corn cutting the kernels off the cob and making some into planks, it looks nice when placed on top of the polenta.
  4. Julienne both zucchini and yellow squash then place into a bowl and add a squeeze of lemon and a little olive oil just to wilt them down a bit.
  5. MAKE THE POLENTA
  6. In a medium saucepan add the broth or water, get it to a boil and whisk in the polenta, now turn the heat down and let it cook til it thickens, it doesn’t take long.
  7. Shut off the heat and stir in the butter, chopped basil and parmigiano, taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper, maybbe more cheese.
  8. When polenta is finished pour it into your serving dish and "decorate" the top to your liking with all the ingredients including the green onion and extra sprinkle of basil and cheese for finishing. You'll probably have some leftover ingredients, especially the roasted tomatoes.Be sure to spoon some of the tomato oil on too.
  9. Serve immediately and enjoy!

 

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Comments

  1. I love polenta, too, although I’ve always thought of it as a winter dish. Thanks for showing us that it doesn’t need to be!

    And congrats on your 13 years of blogging! That’s incredibly impressive. You’re one of the few blogger I know that’s been around longer than I have and still at it. Bravissima!

  2. This is gorgeous! I’ve never done anything so fancy with polenta. It’s usually just more of a background base. But whatyou’ve done here is spectacular!

  3. It never ceases to amaze me how versatile polenta is! This looks so delicious, a perfect summer recipe!

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