Baked Polenta with Parsnip, Carrot, Parmesan & Rosemary
What do you make for supper, when it is cold and rainy outside, you have nothing in the fridge and you are absolutely starving?
Why, you make something utterly fantastic of course! What else?
Using equal shares of inventiveness, creativity, near-starvation and desperation, I came up with this little idea! Amazing what you can do when you make a little effort!
The only thing I DID happen to have in the fridge, which you may not have as a staple, were the parsnips, which were also of course the stars of the show, with their intense, savory flavor...
But I DID happen to have them! Thank goodness! So there!
2 cups of polenta, 2 carrots, 2 parsnips (well, 3... of which 2 of them were rather small), 2 spring onions, a little Parmesan cheese, a little olive oil and some salt, pepper and nutmeg to season... That was all it took to make 2 nice servings.
Mild and creamy underneath but crispy and savory on top, this was perfect comfort food ... And yes indeed folks, it IS already that time of year!
This was actually very easy to make!
First of all, turn on the oven to get it nice and hot and start around 4-5 cups full of water boiling in a saucepan.
Whilst it comes up the boil, peel the carrots and parsnips and then cut them into thin strips... Not quite a "julienne"... but yeah, pretty fine! Cut the spring onions in half and then boil everything together with a good pinch of salt for 4-5 minutes.
After 4-5 minutes, remove the vegetables from the water using some tongs and set them to one side to cool. Now, stir in the polenta to soak up all of that tasty broth. Season with a little more salt, plenty of pepper, a good pinch of grated Parmesan, a good pinch of dried rosemary and plenty of freshly grated nutmeg.
Whilst the polenta gently bubbles away, drizzle the vegetables with olive oil to get them nice and glossy.
Pour out your polenta into a baking dish that has been lightly coated with a little olive oil.
Now add the onions and the vegetable julienne, do it nicely and try to make it look pretty... But also, try not to obsess! As you can see, I began with the onions and then filled-in the gaps with the carrot and parsnip.
Don't be coy- press the vegetables down into the polenta and then finish it off with a sprinkle of rosemary, nutmeg, pepper and Parmesan in top, before popping it into a hot oven, to bake at 180 C for the next 30-40 minutes.
The colors and flavors of Autumn... Terrific!
And there you all were, thinking I was going to starve this evening... Ha! Oh no, not I!
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