This is another one of those savory dishes with a sweet name. Well, you know what I mean. My goal here was to make someone like polenta. He was whining about how when he was younger his parents would always leave leftover polenta in the fridge and he had to eat it in spite of its unappealing appearance and taste. Tough break. So I set out to do what Jessica Seinfeld did with vegetables for her kids: hiding the polenta-leftover-taste inside a better-looking, fancier dish. It’s not exactly fancy, I’ll give you that, but it worked: he ate it, and he even liked it.
Of course he’s going to hate me for telling you this story. He’s 31 years old.
One last thing: this recipe is very easy to make, and yields pretty good results for little effort. A good combo in my book.
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Polenta Pesto cake
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups polenta
- 2 cups pesto
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook polenta according to package instructions.
Grease a loaf pan, then layer the bottom with 1 inch of the cooked polenta.
Add a thin layer of pesto on top (make sure it spreads all over the surface of the polenta.)
Repeat until you reach the top of the pan. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and parmesan.
Bake 30 minutes. Let it sit on the counter for 1 hour, then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Slice, enjoy cold or warm, with a salad or tomato sauce on the side.
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My tips:
- Don’t be tempted to slice the cake before it is completely chilled, it will break apart.
- You can substitute tomato sauce for the pesto, it will be delicious too. Just make sure to add a bit of olive oil to the polenta so it doesn’t dry too much in the oven.
Source: clementinecuisine original
