15 Apr 2012

Grilled Polenta with Parmesan Cheese and Simple Salad - Another Leftover Feast!


I recently cooked lamb shanks with gorgonzola infused polenta - and it was delicious. But, once again we made too much of the sides which seems to be a chronic problem in my kitchen! It is nothing new that my portions are a bit too generous, but I try my absolute best to be thrifty with the food so that nothing needlessly ends in the bin.

And sometimes I actually manage to turn the leftovers into a something completely different - and sometimes an exciting new dish is created in the process! I used to have a subscription to the American food magazine Bon Appetit and with the recipes they would often feature various ideas on how to use the leftovers - how to create something new from the old. Very nifty.

In any case, this is a micro-blog - I felt I had to write about this, the tastiness of the dish demands being shared with the public! And given that we had this for lunch the following day we could even use the salad from the evening before, as a side of course.


Grilled Polenta with Parmesan Cheese and Simple Salad - Another Leftover Feast!
Cold Polenta


Polenta is ground cornmeal which expands considerably when boiled in water. Through the boiling it releases  starch which gives it a lovely silky texture once it is properly warm. When it has cooled it thickens and takes on a form similar to that of bread. 

I had the good sense of stretching it out on a cutting board before it cooled and I kept it in the fridge over night. Of course, this requires no grand culinary techniques, just cut the polenta into triangles (this was probably the most complicated procedure). The polenta had been mingled with a rather liberal amount of gorgonzola so it was packed with a deep flavor of blue cheese! Few things exceed the flavor of strong cheese!

Fried on a scoulding griddle pan

Heat the pan until it is close to smoking. Brush every slice with a little bit of olive oil and then grill on each side for 1-2 minutes, just so it develops a streaked surface and is heated through. 

Transfer to a plate and decorate with some salad - and don't be afraid of being generous with the parmesan cheese. This was an incredible lunch!

Just grate over some parmiganio cheese

Bon appetit.

1 comment:

  1. they would often feature various ideas on how to use the leftovers - how to create something new from the old. Very nifty.
    Sewing Machine Judge

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