(from the Times-Colonist Food section April 13/2011)
Makes 4 serves (2 wedges each)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup medium-grind cornmeal
1/2 cup tomato/pizza sauce
8 cherry bocconcini cheese (I used the whole tub!)
fresh whole basil leaves
pitted olives (I used green because that's what I had but it calls for black or green)
Brush 12 inch pizza pan with olive oil and set aside. Pour the water into a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, add the salt, and then reduce heat to medium. While whisking steadily, slowly pour in the cornmeal.
Lower heat to medium-low and cook the cornmeal for 5 minutes whisking it frequently.
Cook for 15 minutes more, but, now that it has started to thicken, use a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to stir it frequently. At this point, the polenta should be quite thick, but still spreadable.
Spoon the polenta on to the pizza pan and quickly spread into a circle that's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Allow the polenta to cool to room temperature and set.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spread the tomato sauce (I used pizza sauce that I had in the fridge and needed to be used up!) on the polenta.
Arrange the cheese, olives and basil on top of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the pizza with black pepper. We also sprinkled on some Romano cheese that we had in the fridge.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the polenta is hot and a little crispy on the bottom. Cool a few minutes and then cut into 8 wedges and serve. This is not an 'eat with your fingers' pizza. We treated it more like a casserole and put it into a pasta bowl. Delicious!!
What I had on hand:
Cornmeal, water, pizza sauce, seasonings, romano cheese, olives
What I had to buy:
Bocconcini cheese, fresh basil
Here's a picture of the polenta cooking (in Italian pronounced "Poienta!" according to my friend Kathleen).
and the pizza bake ready to go in the oven
and now out of the oven and ready to enjoy!!
See how the cheese has smooshed and softened.? It was chewy and excellent. The hit of fresh basil on the tongue mixed with the tang of the green olives was remarkable!
I will definitely be making this again...even when the pantry is empty and I have to buy ingredients!! SO worth repeating!!
Buono Appetito!!
Until next time,
Mavis
No comments:
Post a Comment