Friday, February 24, 2017

Power to the Polenta

Hello veggies!

Welcome back from a bit of an absence.  I've been mostly living on Instagram the last few years--to see what I have been cooking and posting there, you can follow me @theprodigalvegan.

Also--new name!  I'm now The Prodigal Vegan, which will tie in with a solo show I am developing for next month at La MaMa in New York as part of their Poetry Electric Series.

But more on the solo show later.  Today I want to talk about polenta.  Because I am kind of obsessed with polenta right now.

For those who aren't familiar, polenta is a cornmeal-based dish that can either be made firm like a cake or more liquid-like for a kind of porridge.  For years I used to buy the pre-made stuff at Trader Joe's that comes shaped like a sausage, until I realized how easy and delicious it is to make from scratch.

Since I've gone full-on vegan at home this year, creamy polenta has been a great savory breakfast solution for those days when I really miss stuff like middle-eastern shakshuka.  I made some yesterday with some leftover veggies and soy chorizo I happened to have on hand and the results were pretty stellar.



For the recipe, I have to give credit to the Garum Factory and their recipe for Jackson Pollock Polenta as inspiration.  I was trying to find ideas for this bottle of pomegranate molasses I had just picked up, it was a great jumping off point.

So here it is:

Savory Breakfast Polenta with Soy Chorizo and Leftover Veggies
Serves 1 or 2

Ingredients:
1 cup of coarsely ground cornmeal
2 cups of water
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 a small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 a medium sized red pepper
1/4 cup soy chorizo or some other ground veggie beef-like product
1/4 cup of canned chickpeas
handful of baby greens
optional: pomegranate molasses to taste.

Bring water and salt, and 1Tablespoon of oil to a boil.  Add cornmeal, reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a small pan.  Add onions and garlic, and cook until the onions begin to get soft.  Add red pepper and cook a bit longer until that is soft.  Add soy chorizo and chickpeas and cook until heated through.  Add greens and stir until they are wilted.

Put polenta into a bowl and top with the veggie mixture.  Drizzle with pomegranate molasses.

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