Griddled Polenta Cakes with Roasted Vegetables

I've been meaning to try Polenta for a long time but have just never gotten around to it. Tonight, it became New Veggie #68 and the latest permanent member of my pantry. Although I've never really been a fan of grits (I need to give them another chance soon), I have always liked all other corn products so today I finally got around to making a lazy version, which turned out great! 

Griddled Polenta Cakes with Roasted Vegetables

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients (4 Servings):

1. 1 tube of Food Merchants Traditional Italian Polenta
2. Salt and Pepper, to taste
3. Roasted Vegetables (I used Zucchini and Haricot Verts today) with juices
4. Cooking spray, for skillet
5. Hot Sauce, to taste

Directions:

Slice the tube of Polenta into 12 round cakes, each about 0.5 inch thick. Preheat a skillet, or cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot, spray lightly with cooking spray and place each round cake on the hot skillet. As one side gets seared, turn over to sear the other side. This helps create a sort of skin on each cake and preserves the juices inside, leaving the inside soft and creamy, and the outside a little chewy. I served these tonight with my Oven Roasted Zucchini and Garlicky Haricot Verts. I drizzled whatever juices there were in the vegetable pans on top of the polenta and also drizzled with hot sauce. Umm Umm Good!!

My Assessment: I really liked it. Tony was not a fan - he thought it was pretty tasteless. I liked the fact that it retained its softness inside even though I seared the outsides. I liked the blending of the vegetable juices with the corn meal and how it basically imbibed the flavors of the roasted vegetables. It has definitely found a permanent place in my pantry!

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving of Polenta): Calories 105 (Fat Calories 0)
Total Fat 0 g; Carbohydrates 22.5 g; Dietary Fiber 1.5 g; Sugars 1.5 g; Protein 3.0 g