JAZZY GREEN BEANS & TOMATOES OVER POLENTA

But first things first. This is our lovely beagle Made' - she is nearly 10 and I've been off the air, as far as this blog and most other things are concerned, for the last couple of weeks because she's not been well. After x-rays, ultrasounds, specialist exams, etc., she had surgery (we took her down to Toronto on Monday) yesterday - removal of the soon-to-perforate gallbladder. She came through it like the trouper she is, but she's not out of the woods yet. We're also waiting on some four biopsies. We should, however, if she recuperates at the expected rate, be able to travel down to collect her in a couple of days - well, sometime over the weekend anyway. (Photo shows her poor little shaved tum - her pre-summer bikini wax, if you prefer.)

But of course we have been eating at the same time as worrying and fretting and staying awake at nights, although it has been mainly quick and easy food, comfort food, nothing much worthy of reporting here. Still, if you're interested in what two devoted animal guardians do between stressing about the fate of one of their lovely companions, here it is:

This should have been a fairly easy thing to give you, since I wrote it down at the time and copied it onto my computer, but I have just succeeded in erasing the whole recipe. Would ya believe!!!!!! Nevertheless, here it is as I remember it now (sigh!).

JAZZY GREEN BEANS & TOMATOES OVER POLENTA


You'll need the following:

Prepare first-
1 cup polenta prepared according to package directions, poured into a pie plate and kept warm. (I always say 'according to directions' because that makes it not my fault if this stuff doesn't turn out right. Frankly, I find a proportion of 3 to one for water and polenta works fine. I use water (not 'milk' or stock), I add no oil or salt, but I do like to stir in some finely minced/mushed garlic when it starts to thicken. You must please yourself how you like it.)

4 or 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and then chopped finely (reserve the soaking liquid)
4 or 5 sundried tomatoes, soaked and then chopped (reserve the soaking liquid)
Half a pound of green beans, cut into quarter-inch rounds, blanched for two or three minutes and set aside

a couple of slices of a large onion, finely chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 large mushrooms, sliced

1 pound fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp dried basil
dash of cayenne pepper
4 canned tomatoes (pureed to make a sauce)
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and black pepper to taste

In a skillet, 'saute' the onion, garlic and fresh mushrooms in a little water until the onions are translucent.
Add the fresh tomatoes, basil, cayenne pepper, the sundried tomatoes and the soaked mushrooms and as much of the soaking liquid for the above as you need to continue to cook the stew, another ten minutes maybe.
Cook until all is nicely blended and then add the green beans, pureed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for a few more minutes until it all tastes just wonderful. Taste again to be sure (any left?).

Serve over triangles of polenta with a nice crisp salad.

POLENTA-RATATOUILLE PIE

This recipe is a variation on the Polenta Pie With Spinach I posted here 22 February - posted again for your entertainment and convenience. I had left-over ratatouille from a couple of days ago and thought what to do with it. Because I like things spicy most of the time and also because it would make it different from what we’d recently eaten, I jazzed it up a bit.

POLENTA-RATATOUILLE PIE
(Using Left-Overs)

The filling (I had that - the left-over ratatouille - maybe a couple of cups, give or take - I didn't measure) with extra zing of
Crushed chiles (about a tsp)
1 cup polenta/medium corn meal
3 cups water - or vegetable stock if you prefer
1tsp dried parsley
1 tsp crushed/pulverized garlic
1 - 2 cups Pasta sauce (I had some home made, but you could use your favourite)
A little (just light sprinkles) Vegan parmezan cheez (I used homemade version) - optional

Add the crushed chiles to the left-over ratatouille and keep it warm in a pan while you make the polenta, which is only slightly changed from the previous recipe. The major difference was in halving the recipe since I thought I’d made it a bit heavy the first time.

Bring 3 cups of water (you could use veggie stock and skip the salt) and a pinch of salt to a boil over high heat in a LARGE pot. Slowly add the 1 cup of cornmeal, whisking it in so that it doesn’t go into lumps - or use a wooden spoon, stirring all the while. Add a tsp of dried parsley flakes and a tsp of pulverized garlic and stir well.

Reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover the pan and cook, stirring now and then, around 15 minutes or until the polenta is cooked.

Remove from the heat but leave it covered for about 5 minutes, during which time preheat your oven to 375 F.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Immediately spoon half of the polenta into a lightly oiled/sprayed pie plate. You will need to use the back of a large spoon to press it down and smooth it out nicely. Spoon the warmed ratatouille filling over the polenta base - to within 1/2 inch of the outside rim of the polenta.

Put the remaining polenta on top, carefully spreading it (I used a knife dipped in cold water again and again) and smooth the surface with the back of your big spoon.

Sprinkle the top with a little vegan parmezan cheeze (or your homemade faux cheez substitute), but this is optional.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 mins or until the top begins to brown a little. Remove from oven and let it settle for another 15 minutes.

Cut into wedges, garnish and accompany with pasta sauce if you are using it.

This was too good to call leftovers! Yummmm!!!! (As you can see, we managed, between us, to make great inroads into it.) Serve with a nice salad of your choice.

I was more pleased with this than with the Polenta Pie With Spinach because it wasn't so heavy on the polenta and also because I just love doing something useful with leftovers :) It WAS hard to photograph, though!

POLENTA PIE WITH SPINACH

Here's something I've only made a couple of times - and it keeps getting better!

POLENTA PIE WITH SPINACH

Serves 6 to 8.

1 lge onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or to taste)
2 - 10-oz pgkgs frozen chopped spinach, cooked and squozen as dry as possible*
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil or 1 Tbsp dried
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, reconstituted and finely chopped
4 or 5 mushrooms, finely chopped
pinch of crushed chiles or to taste (optional, but we like it)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups water and 3 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
2 cups polenta or coarse-ground yellow cornmeal
Fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)
2 cups favourite pasta sauce (optional)

*I thawed the spinach, did not cook it, but squeezed it very dry.

Set your oven to 375 F. Oil a 10-inch pie dish and set aside.

FOR THE FILLING:
Heat a couple of Tbsp water in a skillet on medium, and soften the onion in it, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they give up a little liquid. Add half the garlic and cook for another minute and the sundried tomatoes and cook for another minute.

Put in the spinach together with the chopped or dried basil, if using, the salt and pepper and
stir well with the other ingredients for a minute or two.

FOR THE POLENTA:
Bring the combined 6 cups of water and broth to a boil over high heat in a LARGE pot. Slowly add the polenta, whisking it in so that it doesn’t go into lumps - or use a wooden spoon, stirring all the while. Reduce heat to a bare simmer. Stir in the remaining garlic and salt. Cover the pan and cook, stirring now and then, around 15 minutes or until the polenta is cooked. Remove from the heat but leave it covered for about 5 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Immediately spoon half of the polenta into your prepared pie plate. You will need to use the back of a large spoon to press it down and smooth it out nicely. Spoon the spinach filling over the top of the polenta ‘piecrust’ - to within 1/2 inch of the outside rim of the polenta. Put the remaining polenta on top, carefully spreading it (I used my fingers) and smooth the surface with the back of your big spoon.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 mins or until the top begins to brown a little. Remove from oven and let it settle for another 15 minutes.

Cut into wedges, garnish and accompany with the sauce if you are using it.

Can be assembled a day before actually baking it. Reheats nicely.