Vegan Tasty

Herb and Sun Dried Tomato Polenta with Grilled Tomatoes

Ever since I went to Hong Kong I’ve been hooked on the British convention of grilled tomatoes for breakfast. Since I don’t eat eggs I’ve been looking for a vegan substitute that would work well with the grilled tomatoes. As I found from this awesome recipe from The Complete Book of Vegan Cooking herbed polenta is the perfect choice. Crispy, creamy and sweet are all great together. Serve this dish with your favorite whole grain toast and fruit for a great breakfast. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup polenta
• 4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1 1/4 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 1/4 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1 1/4 tablespoons fresh chives
• 1 1/4 tablespoons fresh basil
• Olive oil, for greasing and brushing
• 4 medium to large tomatoes
• Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

Directions

• Place the stock in a heavy pan, with the salt, and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat, slowly pour in the polenta and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Stir constantly for 5 minutes, until the polenta begins to thicken and come away from the sides of the pan.
• Add the sun dried tomatoes and stir until blended.
• Remove from the heat and stir for another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in the margarine, herbs and fresh ground pepper and mix well.
• Transfer the mixture to a baking pan, and spread evenly with a spatula.
• Cover the surface with parchment paper, and put in a cool place until it has completely set and is cold.
• Turn the polenta out onto a cutting board.
• Stamp out rounds with a large biscuit or cookie cutter. If you don’t want to waist any of the polenta you can also cut it into squares.
• Brush the polenta with oil and set aside.
• Cut the tomatoes in half and brush the cut part with oil.
• Heat a griddle pan lightly brushed with oil until piping hot.
• Cook the polenta in each side until browned, about 4 minutes per side.
• Right before the polenta is ready add the tomatoes and grill for about 3 minutes.
• Serve garnished with fresh herbs with some fruit on the side.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 6:55 am. It is filed under Featured, Main Dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.