Leftovers - Polenta (Crispy Polenta & Garlic Scape Pesto Cake)
A few weeks ago I made the Crisp Polenta Cake with Spicy Greens from Joyce Goldstein’s Antipasti. I was really disappointed with the results, the greens weren’t particularly delicious and the texture of the polenta was a bit difficult to swallow. The recipe is meant to serve 8-12 people (and I halved it), but the two of us finished off all the greens and had tons of the polenta cake leftover
The next day I dug around in the fridge and came up with some left over garlic scape pesto and a wedge of Parmesan. The oils from the pesto seeped into the top layer of the polenta, and the second baking made the polenta just that much crisper. Topped with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan, the leftovers were much easier to swallow.
Crispy Polenta & Garlic Scape Pesto Cake
serves 4
For the Polenta:
olive oil
1 c stone ground polenta
3 c water
salt & pepper
For the Pesto:
1/4 lb garlic scapes
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper
1/4 c pine nuts
1 T olive oil
lemon juice
To assemble:
1/3 c grated Parmesan
First make the pesto, cut the scapes into 1″ pieces and saute in the oil over medium high. Add the salt, pepper and nuts and saute until the scapes start to soften and the pine nuts toast to a golden brown. Transfer to a food processor with the remaining oil and blend to a smooth paste. Add more salt and lemon juice to taste.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Oil a 9″ pie dish and place in the oven to heat.
Whisk together the polenta & the water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Slowly bring to the boil, whisking often. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring, for a few minutes until smooth. Season to taste & carefully poor into the prepared pie dish.
Bake 30 minutes until the polenta is pulling away from the edges of the pie dish.
Coat the polenta with the pesto & sprinkle with Parmesan, return to the oven for 5-10 more minutes, until the cheese has melted.
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Tags: cheese, garlic scapes, leftovers, pesto, polenta, sides
