Sundried Tomato Polenta Bites
Love this polenta appetizer for an elegant holiday party!
Servings: 30 appetizers
Ingredients
POLENTA:
- 2⅔ cups whole milk
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 clove garlic, peeled & crushed
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal or polenta
- ⅓ cup olive oil (more or less, for frying)
PESTO:
- ½ cup (packed) fresh basil
- ¼ cup shelled pistachios
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
TOPPING:
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- ⅓ cup sundried tomatoes, packed in oil (drained & cut into small pieces)
- chopped pistachios, optional
- sea salt
Instructions
PREPARE THE POLENTA:
- Lightly oil a 13x9-inch baking pan. Bring the first 4 ingredients to simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat; simmer 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the herbs and garlic. Whisk in the cornmeal in a slow steady stream; return to boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer until the polenta is very thick, whisking often, about 10 minutes. Turn polenta out into prepared pan; spread to ½-inch thick layer- don't worry about making it perfect- just spread it out as even as you can. Let it cool completely. When the polenta is cool, use a 1 to a 1 ½-inch round cutter to cut out 30 polenta rounds (or as many as you can).
PREPARE THE PESTO:
- Place the basil, pistachios and cheese in a mini processor Blend to create a coarse puree. Add olive oil and blend until pesto is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
COOK THE POLENTA:
- Pour about ⅓ cup olive oil into a large nonstick skillet to coat the bottom; heat over medium-high heat. Saute the polenta rounds until they are lightly browned, about 1 minute on each side; transfer to paper towels to drain.
ASSEMBLE:
- Top each polenta round with a small amount of pesto, a chunk of goat cheese and sundried tomato. Add a few chopped pistachios too, if you'd like. Finish them with a sprinkle of sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- If you want to leave off the cheese, you can certainly do so.
- I like to use Bob's Red Mill brand Corn Grits (Polenta).
- MAKE-AHEAD TIP: Prepare the polenta rounds as described in step 1 up to two days ahead; cover and chill.
- MAKE AHEAD TIP: Prepare the pesto up to 1 day ahead; cover and chill. For a quick & easy sub- use store bought pesto in place of the homemade.
- MAKE AHEAD TIP: Fry the polenta rounds up to 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature, then re-warm in 375 degree oven for 5 minutes before adding toppings and serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1appetizer | Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 86mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 285IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 0.4mg