Description
This festive pumpkin beet polenta makes a great alternative to soup as a first course! Easy, inexpensive, and sure to impress your guests!
Ingredients
For The Beets:
- 2 cups roasted beets (diced)*
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Salt and pepper to taste
For The Beet Greens:
- 1 bunch beet greens (washed and chopped)*
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Pinch of chilli flakes
For The Polenta:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or water but broth will add lots of flavour, use homemade broth for extra savings!)
- 1 cup polenta (fine cornmeal)
- 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp fresh thyme (or sage)*
- 1/2 tsp salt & pepper (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- In a shallow dish, combine diced roasted beets, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to marinate while you make the polenta.
- You can either saute the beet greens before you start the polenta, or multi-task a little bit and saute the greens when the polenta is almost done cooking and doesn’t need as frequent stirring. Simply heat the oil in a skillet and saute the minced garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add in the greens with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until wilted about 5-8 minutes. In the last couple minutes of cooking, sprinkle with chilli flakes and lemon juice. Remove from heat and set aside.
- For the polenta, heat a preferably wide and deep saute pan with a lid over medium heat with a drizzle of oil, water, or broth. If you don’t have a saute pan large enough, you can use a non-stick pot. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion. Season with salt & pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Pour vegetable broth into the pan and bring it to a simmer. Raise the heat a bit and cover with a lid to speed up the process. Once simmering, lower the heat.
- With the heat on low, use a wire whisk, and slowly add the polenta to the lightly simmering broth, ¼ cup at a time. Whisk constantly to avoid clumps. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Stirring frequently. (After about 10 minutes the polenta is too thick to whisk so switch to a wooden spoon for the remainder of the cooking time).
- Add in the pumpkin puree, fresh thyme leaves or chopped sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, and any additional salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes to combine all the flavours.
- To serve, spoon the polenta into shallow dishes, top with sauteed beet greens, then roasted beets, and garnish with more thyme or sage and roasted pumpkin seeds.
Notes
*Approximate Cost: CAD $9.16 (roughly $2.30/serving) using homemade broth. Using 4 cups store-bought broth brings this recipe to CAD $12.20.
*If your beets are not previously roasted; peel them, dice them, toss them in maple syrup and vinegar, and roast at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. You can do this while your polenta cooks.
*You can definitely prepare your beets and beet greens ahead of time. The beets can be room temperature when you assemble the dish and you can reheat the beet greens for a few minutes in a warm skillet. The polenta is best when fresh, but if you have to make it ahead of time you can reheat the polenta in a skillet until warm. It shouldn’t need any extra liquid to get creamy again but if it is looking dry, you can add a splash more broth to rejuvenate it.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian