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Pan Fried Polenta salad with pesto and cherry tomatoes

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Difficulty Low
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

For the polenta

  • 100 g polenta
  • 500 ml milk any type
  • 30 g grated parmesan cheese I used Grana Padano
  • 1 garlic clove crushed with the side of a knife
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the pesto

  • 20 g basil leaves
  • 25 g almonds toasted in a preheated oven at 180C
  • 25 g walnuts toasted in a preheated oven at 180C
  • 15 g grated Parmesan cheese I used Grana Padano
  • 1/2 garlic clove minced, crushed or puréed
  • 80 g olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Para los tomates cherry

  • 350 g cherry tomatoees
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

To serve

  • 100 g serrano ham or prosciutto
  • balsamic glaze / balsami reduction

Instructions

For the polenta

  1. Add the garlic, polenta a milk to a pot over medium heat.

  2. Stirs constantly using a whisk until it starts to boil. Taste the polenta and if there are still some uncooked bits left cook it a few extra seconds. 

  3. Turn off the heat and add the parmesan cheese. Mix to help it melt into the polenta. Taste it and correct the level of salt and pepper.

  4. Spread the mix evenly in a 2020cm mould and take it to the fridge overninght.

  5. Run a knife around the edge of the mould and filp it onto a chopping board. Cut it into squares.

  6. Place a pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Pan fry the polenta on either side (it takes a couple of minutes to become golden) and flip it to pan fry on the other side. Remove them from the pan and serve.

For the pesto

  1. Place everything in a food procesor until you have a fine pesto.

  2. If you're not going to use it immediately you can place it in a container and layer some olive oil on top. In that way it's not in contact with the air and won't turn black.

For the cherry tomatoes

  1. Mix the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. If they're too big you can split them in half beforehand.

  2. Take them to a preheated oven at 180C for 20-30min or until soft and bursted.

To serve

  1. Make a bed of the polenta and top with the cherry tomatoes, serrano jam, drops of pesto and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.