Charred Polenta with Olive Tapenade and Balsamic
If you want something a little bit fancier, that’s actually incredibly easy to make, this is the perfect dish. Polenta is a brilliant canvas to inject lots of flavour into. Letting it set and then frying gives it a whole new level of flavour and the slightly crunchy outer texture is absolutely delicious.
If you’re making it in advance you could let it set overnight in the fridge. Serve it piping hot with a green salad. What really adds flavour to this is the Genovese Olive Tapenade. The range is Gluten Free, Nut Free, Dairy Free and Vegan. Shelf life is 60 days, even when opened despite having no artificial preservatives, additives or colourings so its a very handy one to have in your fridge at all times.
700ml of vegan stock.
175g of polenta
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Served with Genovese Olive Tapenade.
Bring the stock to the boil and whisk in the polenta stirring continuously. Reduce the heat and add a large pinch of salt and cook over a medium heat stirring all the time. Once it has thickened stir in the olive oil, garlic and nutritional yeast. You want to reach a stage where it is like a really thick batter - approximately 20 minutes- stirring regularly. Pour onto a well oiled 6 x 4 tupperware approximately 1” thick and leave to set for at least 1 hour in the fridge or for perfectly sized individual portions you could place in silicone moulds.
Roast the tomatoes with a generous sprinkle of garlic, thyme, rosemary in a hot oven at 180* for approximately 30 minutes.
Brush the top of the set polenta with oil and invert the tray onto a chopping board to release. Cut into serving sizes and griddle or fry on each size for 3-4 minutes just to get griddle lines and add a smokey flaour. To assemble place the polenta in the centre of the plate, add a spoon of Genovese Olive Tapenade, add the tomatoes and top with a generous tablespoon of balslamic. Add a sprinkle of basil and a final seasoning before serving.
*Thank you to Genovese for collaborating with me on this post.
Genovese is available in artisan food stores to include Nourish and Lotts and Co. For stockist information see Genovese.ie.
