For refreshing grain bowl, stir up a pot of polenta
The Italian way with polenta, topped with saucy vegetables and/or meat, might have been the original grain bowl. What’s important is how you make it. I tried a pretty basic recipe I found in “Plant-Protein Recipes That You’ll Love,” using polenta from Bob’s Red Mill that’s not stone-ground, and although it cooked quickly, I found the result bland.
When I tried it again, using stoneground cornmeal and a Serious Eats technique that involved soaking it overnight before cooking, I remembered all the beautiful corn flavour and fluffy texture I appreciate from well-made polenta.
It takes more forethought and a little more time, but it’s worth it. And just in case you’re wondering: yes, you can use grits instead.
Mushroom Polenta Bowl with Greens and Beans
Makes 6 servings
Look for medium or coarse, stoneground polenta or cornmeal (even if it’s not labelled polenta). Avoid instant polenta. Stone-ground grits may be substituted, but the cooking times and texture may be different. For the fastest polenta, the cornmeal needs to soak overnight.
5 cups water
1 cup dried polenta, preferably stone-ground (see headnote)
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus more as needed
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 pound rainbow chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced (1 cup) 4 cloves garlic, sliced
½ tsp sweet or hot smoked paprika (pimenton)
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced (about 3 cups)
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
One 15-ounce can no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Combine the water and polenta, cover, and let soak overnight at room temperature.
Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and stir in ½ teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil. Allow it to boil until it starts to spit, then reduce the heat to eliminate the spitting and cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking, until the polenta thickens and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 30 minutes. (If you start with unsoaked cornmeal, this will take up to 50 minutes.) Stir in the black pepper. Taste, and add more salt, as needed. Remove from the heat, but cover to keep warm.
While the polenta is cooking, prepare the chard: strip the leaves from the stems. Then thinly slice the stems, keeping them separate from the leaves, and coarsely chop the leaves.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the chard stems, onion, garlic and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring, until they soften, four to six minutes. Sprinkle in the smoked paprika and cook just until it becomes fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the chard leaves and cook just until wilted, two to three minutes. Taste, and add more salt, as needed. Scoop the mixture into a bowl, cover to keep warm, and rinse out the skillet.
Return the skillet to medium heat. Pour in another 1 tablespoon of the oil; once it shimmers, add the mushrooms and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms soften, exude moisture and most of it evaporates, four to five minutes. Stir in the thyme and beans and cook just until the beans warm through, one to two minutes. Taste, and add more salt, as needed.
Top each portion with the equal helpings of the mushrooms and beans and then the chard mixture. Drizzle with a little oil.
Per serving: 230 calories, 8 grams protein, 38 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 370 mg sodium, 6 g dietary fibre, 3 g sugar
Adapted from “Plant-Protein Recipes That You’ll Love: Enjoy the Goodness and Deliciousness of 150+ Healthy Plant-Protein Recipes!” by Carina Wolff (Adams Media, 2017).