This dish evokes happy memories in 20 minutes. Each time I make it, I have memories of the
delicious flavors and textures from the past times I’ve had it. I also get the feel-good
nostalgic moments of sitting down at the table with my parents, anxiously waiting for a
delicious meal to be served. They were foodies and loved to cook and share food
stories. Mom cooked all day and Dad knew how to make some simple tasty pleasures.
After my mother passed, I loved going over to see my father and sit down to this polenta
dish he’d make for me. Polenta he ate often as a poor kid in the former Yugoslavia, now
Serbia. It’s common in the Balkans and Italy in Europe. Eating it makes me feel
grounded, as if all my parts connect and I feel safe. I think it’s the original soul food
because you feel connected to something special after eating it.
What is Polenta?
Polenta is simply cornmeal and is eaten traditionally in many parts of the world. In
Europe you’ll find it in the Balkans and in Italy. You’ll also discover it as a staple from
Africa to Mexico and South America and even in the U.S. It is boiled, baked, fried,
grilled, made into flatbreads or cakes, savory and sweet. In the U.S, it is known as grits
in the southern states and is a coarser ground cornmeal than this Italian cornmeal I
used in this recipe.
I love the finely ground white polenta from Italy. The other ingredients I am using are a
buttery olive oil from Greece in a cute bottle, a perfect size jar of Italian tomato sauce,
mozzarella balls from Cheeze and Thank You out of Chicago, fresh basil from the
garden, Zanzibar pepper sourced from Burlap and Barrel, and sea salt. These products
are sold at Chef Tanya’s Kitchen in my marketplace if you live in town! You can find
them online as well at their respective websites. Oh except for the salt. It came from big
sun dried slabs I harvested stopping at the natural salt flats in Baja California on one of
my whale watching expeditions. I use a mortar and pestle to pulverize the chunky
crystals. You gotta love a good salt blessed by whales!
May the happy memories I have from this dish pass on to you and to those you share it
with. Please do share it with your friends and family as good meals together can provide
delicious memories for your lifetime!
20 Minute Polenta di Paisano con Zucchine
Serves 2-4 ~ Prep Time 20 minutes
Gather Your Ingredients
2 each medium zucchini, sliced ¼” lengthwise
½ tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 each garlic clove, smashed
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
4 Tbsp. tomato sauce
4 ea. Slices of Mozzarella
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
Let’s Cook!
- Place zucchini on cutting board or baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Let sit for 10 minutes to “sweat.” This removes some moisture and any bitter
compounds to bring out its sweetness. - While you wait for the zucchini, place the water, salt and olive oil in saucepan to
ready for making the polenta. - Pat the moisture from the zucchini with a cotton tea towel. Heat olive oil in skillet
with smashed garlic clove on medium low heat. Rotate and move garlic clove
around to fully flavor oil. Remove garlic clove when golden brown. Add the
zucchini slices and sauté until lightly browned, turn over, reduce flame, sprinkle
pepper and lightly cover for two minutes. Shut of flame and set aside. - Bring water, oil and salt mixture to boil. Using a whisk, stir in polenta and turn
flame down to medium low. Keep stirring until thickens, about 1 minute. Careful
as it thickens and bubbles up it doesn’t splash on you. It should be consistency of
mashed potatoes. - Place some in serving bowl, top with a little tomato sauce, sliced mozzarella, torn
basil leaves and garnish with the zucchini slices.
