Polenta al Forno With Spinach, Ricotta and Fontina
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound spinach
- 2cups ricotta
- Salt and pepper
- Pinch cayenne
- 1teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼cup grated Parmesan
- 4ounces fontina or Swiss cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
- 2tablespoons butter
- Basic soft polenta (see recipe), kept warm
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Preparation
- Step 1
Blanch spinach briefly in a large pot of boiling water, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze all excess moisture from spinach and roughly chop.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, combine chopped spinach and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper, then add cayenne, lemon zest, half the Parmesan and all but 2 tablespoons of the fontina and stir well.
- Step 3
Butter a 9- by 12-inch casserole dish. Ladle in half of the warm, soft polenta and spread with a spatula to make a thin layer. Spoon spinach mixture evenly over it. Top with remaining soft polenta and spread to smooth the surface. (May be made ahead up to this point, then covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.)
- Step 4
Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and fontina. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
This is one of my favorite dishes, I have made it many times. One suggestion: I find that a quick saute of the spinach rather than blanching is easier, works just as well and is a better water-wise choice for those of us in the southwest.
Loved it. Picked really good ricotta et switched the fontina because none was available with a really sharp Tomme (i know it's French, sorry about the that :D) and dropped a few wild mushrooms that i pan fried and deglazed with white wine. Really, really good.
Hmmm... not difficult to make per se, but a lot of steps (make polenta, blanch spinach, etc.: my sink was full of dishes), and the final dish just didn't do it for me. I think less lemon (the lemon flavor was kind of intense) and perhaps more Parmesan instead of the Fontina (more flavor) might improve things. The final dish was rather bland (except for the lemon) and heavy.
Absolutely delicious and so different from what I usually cook. I did use Bob’s polenta and I used mixed greens and kale because I didn’t have any spinach and I used Havarti cheese because I didn’t have any Fontina but it was still fabulous. We will definitely make again.
Made recipe, full amt, in venerable Corningware casserole, & it had same deliciousness as the moment u pull your oldest quilt under yr chin, & listen to the wind outside yr bedroom window as yr mind curls towards sleep. I love how easy it is to modify, & imagine that we will never make it the same way twice. We used up a scrap of Taleggio cheese, rounded out w/Fontina, added a layer of chopped bacon atop the spinach, & slightly changed the seasonings, but next time, who knows?
Where does the two T of butter go? I am tempted to add it to the polenta…
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