Saturday, August 14, 2010

Black Beans and Polenta


Another less than photogenic recipe.  So I really like black beans and they are cheap and pretty low maintenance, which is good right now as I prepare for quals and want easy meals with limited grocery store trips.  But I like to try not to bake in summer, so instead of making cornbread, I made polenta.  Polenta is basically like grits (in fact that's what the directions on the package of cornmeal said), unless you decided to refrigerate it and then cut and fry it, in which case it's kind of like, well slightly soggy cornbread?  But in a good way.  I decided to serve Spicy Citrusy Black Beans over Cheesy Jalepeno Polenta.  I'm sure I've seen a recipe for this lately, I thought it was on the cornmeal, but it wasn't.  So I made it up.  Well, I adjusted the recipe for cheesy polenta which used parmesan cheese and italian seasoning.  I also cut it in half, standard recipe should not serve 8.

Cheesy Jalepeno Polenta
(serves 4)
1 1/4 c milk
3/4 c water
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
Salt to taste
1/4c-1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese.
1/2 c cornmeal.

Bring the milk, water, butter, garlic, jalepeno, salt, and cheese to a boil.  Slowly, while stirring, add cornmeal to the mixture and cook 3 minutes or until thickened to the desired consistency.  If you eat it then, it's grits (I think).  To make it polenta, pour it into a 8x8 pan and refrigerate until not runny, the directions said 8 hours, I think it would be fine in just a couple.  Then cut it into pieces and fry it (or don't, I didn't and it was still good, probably because it already had enough flavor).  I tried it both ways and thought it was really good both ways.  That may just be because the beans were really good.

1 comment:

  1. This looks absolutely delicious!! Anita and I are going to have to try that out.

    I too am a huge fan of black beans. One of my favorite recipes is just a can of black beans, can of corn, a little salsa, sour cream, and any veggies you find in the fridge (cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc.). Eat it with tortilla chips and your stomach will be very happy :).

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