Tomato and mozzarella polenta
1 hour
Why not try something different? Here, ready-made pesto is spread on a savoury polenta base, then topped with melt-in-the-mouth mozzarella, juicy plum tomatoes and crunchy pine nuts.
Maggie Pannell
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Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 300g quick-cook polenta
- 40g sweetcorn, (frozen or canned)
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 good pinches dried oregano
- 85g sun-dried tomato pesto
- 175g reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
- 400g baby plum tomatoes, halved
- 40g pine nuts
- TO GARNISH
- few sprigs of fresh basil
- 7–8 black olives
Method
Prep:40min ›
Cook:20min ›
Ready in:1hr
- Bring 1 litre of water to the boil in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat, then add the polenta in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Put the pan back onto the heat and cook gently, still stirring, for 5 minutes, until very thick.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the sweetcorn, spring onions, oregano and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer to an oiled Swiss roll tin or rectangular baking tin measuring about 20 x 30cm, and spread out evenly. Leave for about 20 minutes until cool and firm.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 7. Spread the pesto evenly over the polenta base. Thinly slice the mozzarella, then cut into strips and scatter over the polenta base.
- Arrange the tomato halves on top, cut-side uppermost. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, then scatter over the pine nuts.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve hot or at room temperature garnished with fresh basil leaves and some olives.
variations
Replace the sun-dried tomato pesto with roasted red pepper pesto, and top with thin rings of red pepper and halved plum tomatoes.
