Polenta with sautéed vegetables

I bring you the recipe for making polenta at home with a side dish that goes divine with it and is extremely appetizing: little vegetables and Parmesan. A well-rounded dish that you can prepare quickly in your daily routine.

With the awful cold we're having this February... And I'm thinking only of spring! I just want to make things that bring me the longed-for most beautiful, bright, and colorful season of the year! That's why I thought of this recipe which is not complicated but is flavorful!

A delicious polenta accompanied by a ragù of the most spring-like vegetables we can find in our markets… Some peas, some fresh broad beans and some sautéed green asparagus. Mmmm, irresistible!

Polenta is a corn semolina traditional to Italy with which we can prepare many dishes, accompanied of course by seeds and aromatic herbs. Also, its absence of gluten makes it a very interesting dish for celiacs and those intolerant to gluten.

Polenta is found in the market as instant or precooked flour but also as regular-cooking. The latter needs 25 minutes of cooking and is harder to find in our country. Today I used the first since it was what I had on hand and you also save time without losing properties…. Although I must admit that regular-cooking polenta is delicious!

Since for this recipe we want a purée-like polenta, we will use three parts liquid (water or stock) to one part flour; I especially recommend following the manufacturer's instructions! But you can also make this same recipe using only two parts liquid and you'll get a perfect polenta as a base, which if quickly fried in a pan would be crispy on the outside and tender inside and you can present it as a pizza base and pour the vegetables on top! Imagination to the rescue! *Recipe adapted from Valentina Hortus.

Fleur de Ligne Tokyo Design Studio porcelain bowl and Le Creuset mini ceramic cocottes.

Ingredients

For the polenta:

• A small glass of instant polenta
• Three small glasses of water or stock
• Seed mix (chia, sesame, sunflower seeds..)
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon of EVOO
• 3 tablespoons of good-quality grated Parmesan

For the vegetable ragù:

• EVOO
• ½ onion very finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic chopped
• 200gr of fresh peas (if you don't have them then frozen mini ones)
• 200gr of seasonal broad beans (if not, frozen baby ones)
• A bunch of thin green asparagus
• 150ml of stock (vegetable or chicken)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. We begin by preparing the vegetables. In a frying pan or shallow casserole we add the olive oil, and over medium heat we sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until they become translucent.
2. We add the peas, the broad beans and the asparagus, cook for a couple of minutes and pour in the stock.
3. It will be ready in about 10 minutes or when we see that the vegetables are tender and everything is juicy but not soupy.
4. We add salt and pepper and set aside.
5. Now for the polenta. We want a creamy texture because it absorbs the liquid quickly and becomes dense, so it must be served immediately after preparing it. In a pot casserole we pour the water or stock depending on what we want to use and once it is about to boil, with bubbles on the bottom but not at a full boil, we add the appropriate amount of polenta. We stir well to avoid lumps and add the seeds, the olive oil, the salt, stir and add the Parmesan grated or in flakes. We want it creamy, so in 3-5 minutes (depending on the manufacturer) it will be ready.
6. We serve immediately and immediately top with our little vegetables (in my case I serve them in the Le Creuset mini cocottes, but you can also use deep plates, soup bowls or bowls).
7. We finish with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and to the table with a little more Parmesan on top!

Fleur de Ligne Tokyo Design Studio porcelain bowl, Le Creuset mini ceramic cocottes and skillet skillet Le Creuset.