Polenta With Feta And Spinach Food

GREEK-STYLE SPINACH, FETA & POLENTA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 1.5-qt baking dish (mine is an oval that measures about 9 x 7 inches) or 9-inch pie pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing frequently, until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, polenta, garlic, salt and pepper; whisk until smooth. Add the feta, pecorino Romano, and dill, and whisk until evenly combined. Stir in the wilted spinach.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish or pie pan, and bake until just set and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

POLENTA WITH FETA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Prepare the polenta by boiling the water with the salt and butter or olive oil then adding the polenta in a steady stream while stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Continue cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes (longer if you don't have the quick-cooking variety).
• Spoon into shallow bowls and crumble feta cheese over the top and sprinkle with pepper.
• Bring the spinach to the table in a separate bowl. Take as much spinach as you want/as will fit on top of your polenta and EAT getting a little polenta, cheese and spinach in each bite.
• You can substitute chicken stock or vegetable stock for the water for more flavor but scale back the salt if you do. You can also add onion powder to the polenta or chopped green onion to the spinach. It is pretty versatile.

POLENTA WITH ARUGULA

Steps:

• Combine the water and salt in a heavy large saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Stir constantly until polenta thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and arugula, and stir until the arugula is wilted. Stir in the butter, cream, and cheese, if using. Season the polenta, to taste, with salt and pepper.

POLENTA STACKS WITH HAM, SPINACH, AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Position a rack about 6-inches from the broiler and preheat to high. Cut the polenta into 8 squares and transfer to a sheet pan. Pat dry with a paper towel and lightly brush with olive oil. Broil until tops are browned, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes, stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Put the spinach in the pan and season with salt, cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Reserve pan.
• Divide the wilted spinach among each polenta square. Divide slices of the meat on top of the spinach and top each square with the cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese melts and just begins to brown, another 4 minutes.
• Heat the sauce in the skillet used for the spinach. Ladle some sauce onto each of 4 plates. Place 2 polenta cakes in the middle of each plate and serve.
• Put the broth and milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta, reduce the heat to low, and cook, whisking occasionally, until the polenta is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes.
• Pull the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the cheese, butter, salt, and pepper. Pour into a baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, bring the chicken broth, oil, garlic and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and whisk in the polenta. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone, pecorino and butter. Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Fold in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes longer. Add 1/4 cup water if the mixture gets too thick.
• Pour the polenta into a large bowl and serve with grated Parmesan over the top.

SPINACH AND FETA FRITTATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the bell pepper directly on a stovetop gas burner over high heat and char on all sides, turning with tongs, about 5 minutes. (If you don't have a gas stove, do this on a baking sheet under the broiler.) Transfer the pepper to a medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; remove from the heat. Whisk the eggs, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the egg mixture and feta to the skillet and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the frittata is set and the top is golden, about 15 minutes.
• While the frittata is cooking, peel off the skin from the roasted red pepper with your fingers. Cut the pepper in half, discard the seeds and slice into strips. Toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Slide the frittata onto a serving plate and cut into wedges. Serve with the roasted pepper.

SPINACH-AND-CHICKEN RAGOUT OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and the garlic, lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, turning it over with tongs, adding more as it wilts.
• When all of the spinach is wilted, stir in the tomatoes and peppers. Stir in the broth. Nestle the chicken down into the mixture and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, after about 20 minutes, place the water and 2 teaspoons of salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the cornmeal in a slow, stream, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, switch to a wooden spoon and stir constantly, until mixture is thick, about 20 minutes.
• Stir the vinegar into the ragout and season with 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper to taste. Divide the polenta among 4 shallow bowls and spoon the ragout over it, including a thigh and a drumstick in each portion. Serve immediately.

POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Brush both sides of polenta slices with 1 tablespoon oil; place on a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes on each side or until crisp., Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallot; cook and stir 12-14 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms start to brown. Add sherry; cook, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan., In a small bowl, mix flour, salt and pepper; stir in broth until smooth. Stir into pan. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add spinach; cook and stir over medium-low heat until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes., Arrange polenta on a platter; top with mushroom mixture.

SAUTEED LENTILS AND SPINACH OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• In a small pan combine lentils and about 3/4 c water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer about 20 minutes.
• In another pan saute polenta slices until slightly chewy. Set aside.
• Saute onions, garlic, tomato paste, mushrooms and water until onions are tender. Add cooked lentils, tomato, basil, oregano, pine nuts, and capers, saute about 1 minute. Add spinach and vinegar, stir until spinach is wilted. Pour mixture over polenta slices and top with feta before serving.

HERBY POLENTA WITH CORN, EGGS AND FETA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
• Add the corn to a food processor and pulse once or twice, just until roughly chopped. Transfer corn to a large bowl and add the spinach, cornmeal, Parmesan, scallions, 1/4 cup cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper; stir to combine. Transfer this mixture to a large, deep, oven-proof skillet, then add the milk, stock and butter, stirring gently to mix through. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and give everything a good whisk.
• Return to the oven and bake until the cornmeal is cooked through and the mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes. Give the polenta another good whisk - it should be quite smooth and not completely set - then stir in half the feta. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 degrees Celsius.
• Use a dinner spoon to make 8 shallow wells in the polenta. Crack an egg into each well and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining feta all over, and bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the reserved scallions and cilantro in a bowl with the oil. Spoon this mixture all over the polenta and eggs and sprinkle with the red-pepper flakes. Serve directly from the pan.

POLENTA WITH SPINACH AND PEAS (FOR ONE)

Steps:

• Combine polenta and water in a small saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking from time to time to break up any lumps that form.
• Add salt, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until polenta is thick, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and is no longer grainy on the tongue, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Stir in the spinach, peas, mascarpone and parmesan. Taste and adjust salt. Eat with a spoon.

PUMPKIN GRATIN POLENTA WITH SPINACH MUSHROOMS AND FETA

Steps:

• Bake the butternut pumpkin. If you're doing this ahead of time, just cut it into a few pieces, scoop out the seeds, and place on a baking tray and bake at moderate heat for an hour or so until soft, then remove the flesh from the skin. If you're in a hurry, skin and seed the pumpkin then cut into smallish cubes. Toss with a bit of olive oil, then bake at 350F for about 20-30 minutes until soft. Puree it with a potato masher or implement of choice.
• Stir the polenta into the cold water in an ample pot, add the vegetable stock, and bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the polenta is thick and tender, about half an hour. Remove from the heat, then stir in the pureed pumpkin and the butter, and add a little salt and pepper. Remember that you will be layering it with salty feta, so use a light hand. Pour the polenta onto a large baking sheet and smooth it into a 1/2 inch layer. Allow it to stiffen (30 minutes or more), then cut into rectangles about 2x3 inches in size.
• Meanwhile, peel, halve and slice the red onions. Warm the oil in a large non-stick pan over a low-moderate heat. Add the onions and a dash of salt, and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring now and then, then remove the lid and cook another 15 minutes or more. When the onions are very soft, add the balsamic vinegar to taste and cook another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
• Wipe and slice the mushrooms. Heat the butter or oil and cook the mushrooms until they're a lovely dark brown. Season with Salt and pepper and set aside.
• Remove tough stems from the spinach and wash the leaves well, then chop roughly. In a large saucepan, heat a bit of oil and add the peeled and chopped garlic. Saute for a minute or two, then add the spinach. Put the lid on the pan, and cook for several minutes, turning the leaves with tongs every couple of minutes to stop them sticking. When the leaves are wilted and tender, remove them from the heat and tip them out into a large colander to drain any liquid.
• In a bowl, mix together the spinach, mushrooms, onions and most of the crumbled feta. Lightly oil a large gratin or lasagne dish. Spoon a little of the vegetable mixture into one end of the dish, then start overlapping layers of the polenta slices with layers of the vegetable mixture, leaving some of the filling showing between layers of polenta. You'll have to judge how upright to layer the slices based on the size of your dish. Once you have used up all the filling and polenta, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. It should be bubbling hot, and the cheese on top will be golden brown in spots. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then serve.

POLENTA LASAGNA WITH FETA AND KALE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high flame. Sauté onions and rosemary until the onions begin to brown. Add garlic and carrots. Sauté until garlic fragrances the oil, about 2 minutes. Add kale and sauté until tender, then remove pan from heat.
• Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x8-inch baking dish. Cut polenta into slices no thicker than 1/4 inch. Line the bottom of the pan with 1/2 of the polenta slices, overlapping them slightly to cover the whole bottom of the pan.
• Pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce over the polenta and spread it evenly. Distribute mashed feta cheese over the marinara sauce. Scatter olives over the feta, then top with an even layer of the kale mixture. Place the remaining polenta slices in a layer, overlapping slightly. Spread remaining 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Sprinkle shredded pecorino evenly across the top.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the top layer of cheese is beginning to brown around the edges. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving (use a spatula).

BAKED POLENTA WITH SPINACH & GOAT'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and boil the kettle. In a bowl, mix the garlic and tomatoes with seasoning, then pour into a large baking dish. Place the spinach in a large colander and pour boiling water over until wilted. Rinse in cold water and squeeze out all the excess water you can with your hands. Roughly chop, season, and scatter on top of the tomatoes.
• Slice the polenta, then overlap on top of the spinach. Drizzle with the oil and bake in the oven for 10-15 mins. Scatter over the cheese and return to the oven for 5 mins more, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook the polenta according to pack instructions. When the polenta is softened and smooth, stir through the mascarpone and spinach. Leave for 30 secs until the spinach has just begun to wilt, stir again and then serve.