The wonders of Polenta

  As a nod to my mother's Italian heritage, I have developed a love for Polenta. Polenta is basically an Italian version of cornmeal. You can use it in a variety of ways including sweet and savory dishes. Some people cook it so that it looks and tastes similar to grits, I often buy the easy version that's sold in a tube. I slice it and grill, broil or pan fry it. All you need is some Pam or Olive Oil to brush the polenta with. My new favorite method of cooking polenta is to buy loose polenta and make muffins or bread. My latest experimentation is for Banana Nut Polenta bread. It's great to eat throughout the week heated up with honey and almond butter. I also served it to several friends as a dessert with homemade whip cream and berries that had been reduced in a balsamic vinegar sauce. Here's the recipe. 

Banana Nut Polenta Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup loose Polenta ( I use Golden Pheasant Polenta)
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons of Honey
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk (I used Almond milk, but you could use any milk or milk substitute. My favorites are buttermilk, Almond Milk and Coconut Milk)
• 1/4 No sugar added All Natural Applesauce
• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup walnuts (can leave out nuts or substitute pecans

Directions:


 Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place all ingredients in a mixer and blend. Pour into an 8" pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until brown (You can pour the batter into muffin tins if you want to make muffins). Serves 6


   Helpful Hint: if you don't like bananas or nuts, feel free to substitute other fruits for the ones in this recipe. I've listed a few of my favorite combinations below. Previous Polenta recipes are in my archive on this blog.

• Rosewater, Berry and Almond
• Orangeblossom water, Apricot and Orange Zest
• Rosemary and Sage bread (use dried herbs while baking)
• Basil and Oregano
• Buttermilk and Pecan
• Olive Oil and Meyer Lemon
• Meyer Lemon and Rosemary