Basil Polenta

Here's an easy throw-together gluten free, vegan, nut free dish with generous portions of fresh foods!

Ingredients:

1 18-oz package of polenta (I used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Polenta - Heirloom red and black), cut into 1/3" rounds

2 shallots, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1 handful of basil, cut into strips with kitchen shears

Pam cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with tin foil. Spray with cooking spray. Place polenta on foil. Bake for 15 minutes.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add shallots and garlic, cook until tender. Add tomatoes and cook for another two or three minutes. Add the basil on top. Cook for another two or three minutes.

Place the shallot/tomato/garlic/basil mixture on top of the polenta from the oven. Serve!

This made a fantastic grab and go lunch for me. One of my coworkers never tried polenta before (shh...I didn't either before going gluten free), so I gave her a spoonful and this recipe was awarded her seal of approval! So what exactly is polenta? The variety I buy is yellow corn meal with quinoa - yum! There are loads of recipes to try with it! For my super super easy pan-cooking polenta recipe, check out this post. Now is the BEST time to expand your culinary repertoire and try new foods! (If not now, then when?)