Our dear friend Walter Cooks, who turned 93 just last week, likes to save recipes for me when he sees them in his local paper.
Over the summer he brought a whole stack of them for me to try and one that we just loved was a roasted tomato recipe. Naturally, we doctored the recipe a bit, adding crumbled blue cheese (Roquefort or Gorgonzola work well) over the top before roasting the tomatoes.
This dish is unbeatable during summer when the tomatoes are ripe. But even now, during the winter months, if you can find the tomatoes on the vine, or ripe cherry tomatoes at your local grocer, it makes a delicious topping for chicken or polenta.
Creamy polenta served with this topping definitely qualifies as comfort food for cold winter nights!
Roquefort, made from ewe's milk, and Gorgonzola made from un-skimmed cow's milk hail from France and Italy, respectively. Similar to wine, many cheeses such as these are protected as "designation of origin" in the European Union and may be so named only if they are made in a particular region.
But, other blue cheeses work well with this recipe and you need not worry about finding just the right Gorgonzola or Roquefort. Any blue cheese you like will work well in the dish.
- Baked Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes and Blue Cheese
Polenta
1¾ cups milk
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 cup polenta (yellow cornmeal will also work if you don't have polenta)
½ teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
½ cup finely grated Parmesan
In a large pot, bring milk and broth just to a boil. Slowly add polenta in a steady stream, stirring all the while with a wire whisk. Continue to stir until polenta thickens. Add hot sauce, salt and pepper and crumbled blue cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Turn polenta out into a greased or sprayed 2-quart or 8-inch square casserole. Sprinkle grated parmesan over top and bake in 375-degree oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until polenta is puffy and Parmesan cheese is golden brown. Top with roasted tomatoes and garnish with a sprig of basil.
- Roasted tomato topping
6 medium tomatoes or two baskets of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
8 basil leaves, chopped
Halve tomatoes and place in greased casserole. Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese and chopped basil over tomatoes and continue to bake for another five to 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Remove from oven and serve over baked polenta, or scoop up with crusty Italian bread.
Susie can be reached at suziven@hughes.net.
