I made something like this many years ago for a dinner party because I had a few vegetarian friends coming over. Everyone liked it so much that my poor roast sat there virtually untouched. I have since searched high and low for the recipe – to no avail so I have improvised and put it together from memory. The best thing about doing this has been that I have adapted things to my personal preference and this has made it even better (if I do say so myself).
Of course you can use any roasted vegetables you like, I just thought being Winter – still (how many more weeks do I have to endure?!) that I would roast up some Winter root veggies. The polenta is creamy and wonderful, the vegetables are themselves (roasted to perfection and delicious) and both of these are sensationalised by the robust flavours and the vibrant green of the salsa verde. A true Winter meal or side!
Roasted Vegetables
1/4 cup olive oil
6 small carrots, peeled
2 yellow squash, cut into quarters
2 medium turnips, peeled, cut in half and each half cut into quarters
4 small parsnips, peeled, cut in half
1 spanish onion, peeled and cut in half, each half cut into quarters
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 sprig of rosemary
Polenta
800 mls milk
300 grams/10.5 ounces coarse yellow polenta
1 cup pouring cream
1 1/2 cups finely grated parmesan
60 grams/2.1 ounces unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
Salsa Verde
50 gm day-old sourdough bread, coarsely torn
150 ml red wine vinegar
2 cups (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
3 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
For salsa verde, combine bread and vinegar in a small bowl and stand until vinegar is almost absorbed (5-7 minutes). Process parsley, anchovy, garlic, capers and bread mixture in a food processor until a coarse paste forms, then stir in oil, season to taste and set aside.
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Combine all vegetables and herbs, garlic, and oil in large bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Divide vegetable mixture between two baking sheets.
Roast vegetables 30 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and continue to roast until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, for polenta, bring milk and 800ml water to the boil in a large saucepan, season generously to taste (keep in mind the parmesan will add quite a salty flavour too) and slowly add polenta in a thin stream, whisking continuously. Reduce heat to low and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy (20-30 minutes), then stir through cream, parmesan and butter.
Pour polenta into a serving dish, scatter roasted vegetables over the top followed by a good drizzle of the salsa verde. Serve immediately.
Notes: The polenta starts to set as soon as it is removed from the heat so pour it into your serving dish straight away. With regards to the vegetables – please see the ingredients as guidelines. Also, chop the vegetables into any size you like, just as long as they are roughly the same size so they will cook evenly.
Source: inspired by a recipe somewhere out there
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
