Italian Soul Food

My mom sent me a delicious-sounding recipe for polenta with Gorgonzola she had spied in one of the culinary mysteries by Katharine Hall Page. This is a fun culinary mystery series starring a minister’s wife/amateur sleuth sprinkled with lots of great recipes. Unfortunately, Gorgonzola is not a gluten-free item. All those stinky, glorious cheeses like Blue, Gorgonzola and Stilton are on the verboten list as they are made with bread mold.

Believing as I do that one should always listen to one’s mother, I scoured some other polenta recipes and came up the following version:

Polenta with Gruyere and Roasted Vegetable Marinara

1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 small minced onion
3 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
½ lb. Gruyère cheese, grated
2 small zucchini, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. rosemary
Kosher salt
Olive oil
½ lb. sliced mushrooms
2 cups tomato sauce

Toss zucchini, garlic and mushrooms with enough olive oil to coat in glass baking dish. Sprinkled with salt and rosemary. Roast in 400 degree oven until soft and caramelized, about 45 minutes. Mix with tomato sauce.

While vegetables are roasting, bring 3-1/2 cups of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Gradually stir in cornmeal and onion with a wooden spoon. Simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in butter, eggs and 1 cup of Gruyere. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the mixture evenly in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until the topping is melted and lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with roasted vegetable sauce.

This is a very rich dish, so serve on the side with something plain, like broiled fish or a garden salad.

Serves 4-6.