Polenta, you either love it or hate it! I love it, but I also realize that you have to flavor the heck out of it. Please don’t ever buy those round flavorless tubes, the ones that you can cut a slice off. And on the flip side you really don’t have to stir for hours and hours to make a good polenta. (although if you have the patience it’s delicious). Me,I don’t have patience, so I like using the instant kind, it’s readily available, it’s quick, it tastes great, and it comes out nice and creamy. It cooks up in no time, and right at the end you stir in all your herbs, cheese and other goodies.

In this case, I poured the creamy mixture that was flavored with fresh basil, grated Romano cheese, (lots!), pitted kalamata olives, some olive oil, salt and pepper, into a 10′ tart pan. When it cools it moulds perfectly. You can even add sun-dried tomatoes, it’s so good but I didn’t have any on hand at the time. The key is flavor it up!

This makes a great presentation on a cake stand, and is great as a lunch, appetizer or side dish.

The sky’s the limit on what kind of veggies to put on it, whatever you have on hand, or all of your favorites, I used zucchini ribbons, portabella mushrooms, onions, and red peppers. It cuts perfectly into wedges, just finish it off with shaved Pecorino and a drizzle of your favorite EV olive oil.

Buon Appetito!!!