Polenta with Winter Greens

If you only ate in tapas bars you’d never know how greens make up a large part of the Spanish diet. Chard, kale and spinach seem to be the most popular but there are a variety of salad greens available from the standard mesclun mix to fancy escarole and bitter endive. Greens of all kinds are wilted into beans and soups, braised or eaten in salads. Today I’m going to share a recipe for polenta with winter greens, a filling dish perfect for lunch or dinner.

This particular dish was inspired by Nigel Slater’s recipe in The Guardian. We’ve been eating something similar for years, usually a bowl of polenta topped with pisto and a fried egg. Talk about comfort food! This, loaded with garlic, onions and broccolini will also hit the spot. Normally we serve our polenta without adornment other than salt and pepper. Nigel’s version is made creamy with plenty of butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

In Galicia they eat a green very similar to broccoli raab, which is more closely related to turnips, and would make a good substitution as would any hearty greens you happened to have on hand. Polenta is easily available in Spain and they use it much like the Italians do: porridges, thickener, in desserts and as a base for meats and stews. Polenta is also very popular in Eastern European cuisine. When we were in Moldova last fall the popular breakfast consisted of roasted pork, fried eggs and very stiff polenta with lots of dill and sour cream on the side.

Cooking polenta couldn’t be easier. Most references recommend a 4:1 ratio of water to polenta. Boil some water or broth, add the polenta and stir regularly to break up any clumps and to prevent it from scorching to the bottom or sides of the pan. Polenta will thicken and sputter, so be careful when stirring and reduce the heat to keep it from getting out of hand. The quick cooking, finer product will take about 15 minutes. The coarser varieties will take longer. To be honest, Rick and I just eyeball it. Usually we make out okay. If you’re short on polenta, just cook it a little longer to let the liquid evaporate. If too thick, add some liquid.

This is a simple dish to make. Saute the greens along with onions and garlic in a skillet and cook the polenta in a large saucepan. Everything should finish at roughly the same time; worst case, you’ll need to keep the broccolini warm while waiting for the polenta to finish.

I’ve portioned the recipe for two people and it was plenty for a meal or small portions as a side.

Polenta with Winter Greens

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Servings: 2 servings

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound broccolini or two servings of another hearty green trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 medium onion peeled and sliced into half moons or petals
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
• olive oil for sauteeing
• red pepper flakes
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• 2 1/2 cups water add more or less to control the consistency of the polenta
• 1/2 cup "quick" polenta
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup or more freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes in a large skillet.
• Add the onions and saute until they begin to change color, then add the garlic and saute for a few minutes more.
• Stir in the broccolini and continue saute for a couple minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Stir occasionally and add some more oil or water as needed to prevent sticking. Keep warm after the broccolini is tender.
• After starting the onions, heat the water and 1/2 teaspoon or so of salt in a large saucepan.
• When the water begins to gently boil, pour in the polenta while stirring. Continue to stir until the mix begins to thicken and sputter.
• Reduce the heat and stir occasionally to move the polenta off the bottom and sides of the pan, until it is cooked through, about 15 minutes or so for the quick cooking kind. Refer to the packaging or carefully give it a taste.
• Stir in the butter and parmesan cheese. Add more liquid to adjust the consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.
• When the broccolini is tender, add the zest and juice of half a lemon.
• To serve, spoon some polenta into a bowl and top with the broccolini and onions. Garnish with a few shavings of parmesan cheese.

Like this recipe?Be sure to Pin It for later!

Polenta is at its best when it’s served warm. When allowed to set it will form an unappealing rubbery skin. You can perk up leftovers by adding some milk or butter and stirring it until it breaks up into something a little more appetizing. If, by chance, you happen to make more polenta than you can possibly eat in one sitting, spoon it into a baking dish, cover and set in the fridge. The resulting slab can be sliced and fried. See this post from Serious Eats for a more in depth discussion of polenta.

I’m sharing this post with the bloggers of I Heart Cooking Clubs. This week we’re cooking with greens. Be sure to drop by to see what the other members of the group have made.