Pan grilled polenta

This is my first time making polenta. Polenta is basically ground cornmeal and it comes in many textures; fine, coarse and gigantic. I used fine polenta for this meal although i think a coarse grind would have made it hold better. The flavor in polenta is a very, very mild and nutty, which is why it's absolute crucial to season it well. It will take on whatever flavoring you add to it.

Cornmeal- fine

So today, i made grilled polenta cake for dinner. I also made a side of zucchini salad, which i shred into long thin shaves and season with EVOO, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. I had left over mash potatoes so I added that as part of my side dish too. The zucchini salad is very tasty because it soaks up the marinate, which gives it a lot of flavor and since i kept it raw, it has a little bite to it. It's absolutely delicious.

For the grilled polenta, you'll need:

1 cup polenta
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup corn kernels
1 small onion diced
1/2 carrot diced finely
1 clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil or any cooking oil you have.

Method:

1. Saute your onions, garlic and rosemary until the onions become translucent. Add your corn kernels and carrot, saute for about 5 mins until carrots are tender. Turn off heat and let it sit while you prepare your polenta.
2. Let 2 cups of water and salt come to a boil in a pot. Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of polenta and mix well.
3. Once water is boiling, add the polenta mixture in slowly while whisking constantly with a fork or a whisk. This is to ensure that there are no lumps.
4. When your polenta is well mixed and cooking, turn the heat off. You should have a thick, gruel like texture. Add the corn kernel, carrot and onion mixture in. Mix well.
5. Pour the mixture onto a bread pan or a 8inch cake pan and let it cool. The polenta mixture will cake up when cool and you can cut into whatever chunky shapes you want.
6. Heat up a grilling pan until it is really hot to the touch. Oil the polenta cutlets a little and grill each side until they're brown to your satisfaction.
7. Serve it up hot with a side of zucchini salad and maybe some mashed potatoes if you have some left over. I also added a bit of tomato salsa on the side..:)