recipeworld

In general, the way that I invent new recipes is to start with something that I know really well (for example, polenta or pasta) and then to embellish it with flavors that I like.

I used to make polenta quite often, but I hadn’t in a long time until this Peachy Polenta. Having the bag of cornmeal out inspired me, though.

I have made Parmegiano-Reggiano polenta before, as a side dish, but I wanted to make it more filling, as something I could have for my whole dinner. I had some fresh zucchini in the fridge, and so this polenta came to be!

I always have plain yogurt in the fridge: I eat it for breakfast, but I also throw it into some dishes that should be creamy but that I don’t want to make higher in calories and fat. You really shouldn’t cook plain yogurt, unless it’s strained, or it will curdle, but tossing it into something that’s already been cooked is a nice treat.

Polenta with Zucchini

¼ cup cornmeal
1 cup milk
2 tsp. olive oil
1 zucchini, sliced
½ onion, diced
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 small container plain yogurt

Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat or in a microwave until hot, but not boiling. Add the cornmeal, stirring constantly until the polenta has thickened to a porridge consistency. You may need to add water as it cooks. Stir in half of the parmesan cheese as well as some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until translucent. Add the sliced zucchini. Cook on one side until browned, about two minutes, and then flip and cook the other side. Add the yogurt to the polenta, and then stir the zucchini and onion mixture into the polenta. Serve with the extra cheese on the side.

Sometimes, I have strange cooking urges. It usually happens in class.

I’ll be sitting in a classroom, half-listening to the professor, when suddenly, a craving overcomes me. They’re always different: potato and honey pizza, caramelized onions and apples, melted brown sugar on toast… they’re odd or may not work, but I decide, at that point, that there is something that I have to have, and then I figure out exactly when and how I am going to have it.

That’s what happened with this Peachy Polenta. I was sitting in class, minding my own business (and actually taking notes, for a change) when I suddenly decided that I had to have polenta and peaches together. I don’t know why, but that’s what my stomach told me. And over the past 21 years, I’ve learned that my stomach is usually right.

And it was. When I made this (for my dinner, oddly enough, although it would be much better as breakfast) it was better than I ever could have imagined. The polenta was creamy and perfect, while the peaches added just the right amount of sweetness. Sometimes my cravings are right on, and this was one of them.

Peachy Polenta

1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 4 oz. container plain, lowfat yogurt
1 peach, cut into sections

Heat the milk over low heat and add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Slowly add the cornmeal, stirring all the time. If you find that the cornmeal soaks up the milk too quickly, you can add a little bit of water. When the polenta is cooked all the way through, turn off the stove and spoon about 3/4 of the yogurt container into the pot and stir. Place in a bowl and top with peach segments and the remaining yogurt. Serve hot with extra cinnamon if desired.