Millet Polenta With Tomato Sauce Eggplant And Chickpeas Recipes

MILLET POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE, EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant. Cut it into 3/4-inch cubes and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with olive oil. Lay the eggplant on the foil in a single layer. Roast in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cubes are soft when pierced with a knife and browned in spots. They'll look dry on the surface but when you pierce them with a knife you should be able to see that the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and carefully fold the foil up over the eggplant slices (be careful not to burn yourself!). Crimp the edges of the foil so that the eggplant is hermetically sealed in a big foil packet, and allow the eggplant to steam for another 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Begin the polenta. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the millet. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan, until the grains begin to pop and smell sort of like popcorn. Add the water or stock and salt (up to 1 teaspoon, to taste). Transfer the pan to the hot oven. After 25 minutes give the millet a stir and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. There should still be some liquid in the pan. Stir in the butter and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the millet is thick and no more water or stock is visible in the pan.
• While the millet is in the oven make the tomato sauce. Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor so that you have a nice puréed texture. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a wide nonstick skillet or saucepan and add the garlic and thyme. As soon as it begins to smell fragrant (1/2 to 1 minute), add the tomatoes, sugar, eggplant, and salt, stir and turn up the heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered and stirring often, until thick and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and heat through. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasonings.
• When the polenta is done, remove it from the oven and if desired, stir in the Parmesan. Spoon onto plates or wide bowls, make a depression in the middle with the back of your spoon and top with the tomato, eggplant and chickpeas mixture. Garnish with more fresh thyme and Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil if desired, and serve.

EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND CHICKPEA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and brush the foil with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on the foil, sprinkle with salt and brush each slice lightly with oil. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and carefully fold the foil in half over the eggplant. Crimp the edges together, so that the eggplant is sealed inside the foil and will continue to steam and soften. Leave for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes, and add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cinnamon, basil and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is thick and fragrant. Add freshly ground pepper, then taste and adjust salt. Remove the basil sprig, and stir in the drained chickpeas.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Cover the bottom with thin layer of tomato sauce, and make a layer of half the eggplant. Spoon half the remaining sauce over the eggplant, and repeat the layers.
• Bake 30 minutes, until bubbling. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle on the parsley before serving.

LAYERED EGGPLANT AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees; with rack in upper third. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar, oregano, and basil; season with pepper. Remove sauce from heat.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Lightly brush eggplant slices with the remaining tablespoon oil. Working in batches, lay slices in skillet in a single layer; cook until browned and they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup tomato sauce into a 9-inch square baking dish, spreading to coat evenly. Arrange eggplant slices snugly in a single layer. Spoon about 1 cup tomato sauce over eggplant, and arrange polenta rounds in slightly overlapping slices on top. Repeat with sauce and another layer of eggplant. Finish by dotting with remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover with foil; bake until bubbling and juicy, about 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking until sauce is lightly caramelized and eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes more. Remove from oven; let cool slightly, and serve.

CHEESY BAKED POLENTA IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut out a piece of parchment paper about 16-by-12 inches/40-by-30 centimeters in size and lay onto a clean work surface.
• Prepare the polenta: Add the milk, garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper to a medium saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and slowly pour in the polenta, whisking continuously, until completely incorporated and there are no lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring all the while with a spatula. When cooked, the mixture should pull away from the sides of the pan and be quite thick.
• Add the Parmesan, stirring for another 30 seconds to melt. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the parchment paper. Use your hands to quickly shape the polenta into a large cylindrical shape, about 13-inches/32-centimeters long. Use the parchment paper to help you tighten the cylinder and then gently roll the whole thing in the paper, tightening as you go, then twisting in opposite directions at both ends. Refrigerate to set for about 1 hour, or longer if time allows.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Add the olive oil to a large, ovenproof cast-iron pan that is roughly 11-inches/28-centimeters wide, and heat over medium-high. Once hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes, or until softened and lightly colored.
• Stir in the garlic, red-pepper flakes and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, sugar, a scant 1/2 cup/100 milliliters water, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Set aside until needed.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
• Gently unwrap the chilled polenta and transfer to a cutting board. Trim about 1 inch/2 to 3 centimeters off the ends and then cut the polenta into 24 (1-centimeter-thick) slices.
• Top the tomato sauce evenly with the sliced fontina, then fan out the polenta slices, overlapping slightly, so that they're spiraled to cover the top, leaving a 1-centimeter gap from the edge of the pan. Drizzle the polenta with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until polenta is golden in places and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes to settle.
• While the polenta cools, in a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients. Sprinkle a handful of the topping over the polenta and serve the remaining in a bowl alongside. Serve warm.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEAS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the tomato sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy skillet or wide saucepan over medium heat, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until it smells fragrant, about 30 seconds, and add the tomatoes, honey, salt to taste and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce is fragrant, about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush the boil with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on the baking sheet, salt lightly and brush with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes, or until eggplant is lightly browned and soft all the way through. Remove from the heat. Fold the aluminum foil over and crimp the edges together so that the eggplant steams as it cools. Do this in batches if you need more than one baking sheet. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Place the chickpeas in the baking dish and stir in 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Layer the eggplant over the chickpeas and top with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle the feta over the top and drizzle on any remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the oregano and cover tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes, until the dish is bubbling.

EGGPLANT-POLENTA STACKS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Puree tomatoes in blender. Strain into heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer tomatoes until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Combine 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Parmesan and butter and stir until melted. Mix in cayenne pepper. Spread polenta in 9-inch-square pan. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Sauce and polenta can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Pat dry.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Brush eggplant and zucchini with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil until tender, about 2 minutes per side.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil large baking sheet. Using eggplant as template, cut polenta into 4 rounds. Place rounds on prepared baking sheet. Top each with eggplant, 2 zucchini slices, basil leaf and mozzarella slice.
• Bake eggplant stacks until cheese melts and begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to plates. Rewarm sauce. Spoon around eggplant stacks. Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve.

MILLET POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND BROCCOLI OR BROCCOLI RAAB

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a pyrex measuring cup or a bowl and pour on 1 cup boiling water. Let soak 20 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the dried mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer then rinse, away from the bowl with the soaking liquid, until they are free of sand. Squeeze dry over the strainer and set aside. If very large, chop coarsely. Set aside the broth.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the dried mushrooms are soaking, start the millet polenta. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the millet. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan, until the grains begin to pop and smell sort of like popcorn. Add the water or stock and salt (up to 1 teaspoon, to taste). Transfer the pan to the hot oven. After 25 minutes, give the millet a stir and then bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. There should still be some liquid in the pan. Stir in the butter and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the millet is thick and no more water or stock is visible in the pan.
• While the millet is in the oven cook the mushrooms. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When the oil is hot (you can feel the heat when you hold your hand above the pan), add the shiitakes and the fresh mushrooms. Don't stir for 30 seconds to a minute, then cook, stirring or tossing in the pan, for a few minutes, until they begin to soften and sweat. Add the remaining oil, turn the heat to medium, and add the shallots, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Stir together, add salt to taste and freshly ground pepper to taste, and cook, stirring often, for another couple of minutes, until the shallots and garlic have softened and the mixture is fragrant. Add the chopped dried mushrooms, the soy sauce and wine and cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the wine has evaporated. Add the broth from the dried mushrooms, turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until it has reduced by about a third. The mushrooms should be moist. Stir in the parsley, taste, adjust seasonings, and remove from the heat.
• When the polenta is done, remove it from the oven and if desired, stir in the Parmesan. Spoon onto plates or wide bowls, make a depression in the middle with the back of your spoon and top with the mushrooms. Arrange steamed broccoli or broccoli rabe next to the mushrooms or on top, and serve.