Herby Polenta With Corn, Eggs and Feta

Herby Polenta With Corn, Eggs and Feta
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(1,182)
Comments
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Cooking polenta in the oven has turned out to be quite a game-changer for me, and completely contradicts the belief that polenta needs to consistently be attended to. Do try to find coarse cornmeal here rather than the quick-cooking kind, as that style of polenta simply won’t yield the same smooth and creamy result that you’re looking for. You can also swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock or water if you’re looking for a vegetarian alternative. I like to serve this as a midday brunch with a zesty green salad, as it’s hearty enough to keep you going until dinner.

Featured in: Polenta That You’ll Never Need to Stir

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 9ounces/255 grams frozen corn kernels (about 2 cups), defrosted
  • 7ounces/200 grams baby spinach (about 10 lightly packed cups), roughly torn or sliced
  • 1cup/150 grams coarse cornmeal
  • 1packed cup/50 grams finely grated Parmesan
  • 5scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced, 2 tablespoons reserved for garnish
  • ¼cup/20 grams roughly chopped fresh cilantro (coriander), plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped and reserved for garnish
  • 3tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 3tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill
  • 4garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • cups/530 milliliters whole milk
  • 2cups/475 milliliters chicken stock
  • 3tablespoons/40 grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 5ounces/140 grams Greek feta, roughly crumbled (about 1 cup)
  • 8medium eggs, at room temperature
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

516 calories; 28 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 892 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.

  2. Step 2

    Add the corn to a food processor and pulse once or twice, just until roughly chopped. Transfer corn to a large bowl and add the spinach, cornmeal, Parmesan, scallions, ¼ cup cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, 1½ teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper; stir to combine. Transfer this mixture to a large, deep, oven-proof skillet, then add the milk, stock and butter, stirring gently to mix through. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and give everything a good whisk.

  3. Step 3

    Return to the oven and bake until the cornmeal is cooked through and the mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes. Give the polenta another good whisk — it should be quite smooth and not completely set — then stir in half the feta. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 degrees Celsius.

  4. Step 4

    Use a dinner spoon to make 8 shallow wells in the polenta. Crack an egg into each well and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining feta all over, and bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, 10 to 15 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Meanwhile, combine the reserved scallions and cilantro in a bowl with the oil. Spoon this mixture all over the polenta and eggs and sprinkle with the red-pepper flakes. Serve directly from the pan.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,182 user ratings
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Comments

Chop the corn with a knife or leave it whole! No need to dirty a food processor for this one step. Also in the interest of cutting down on dishes, ingredients can be mixed directly in the skillet. I cut the recipe in half, baked in an 8 inch skillet, and it turned out very well.

I haven't tried this but This use of vegetables is intriguing. However, I do use polenta a lot and mostly cook it in the microwave. 1 liter of water + salt. Nuke for 5 min. Add 250 g polenta and beat with rotary beater. Nuke for 10 min. Beat again with rotary beater and Nuke again for 8-10 min. Comes out perfect, creamy, just the right thing for ossobuco or any other dish with a good sauce. Thought I would share this

They’re not the same. Grits and polenta are made with different types of corn. Grits are a white corn with a soft starch. Polenta is made from a yellow corn and has a hard starch. So, the flavor profile and texture are different between grits and polenta.

Good! Too much cheese (coming from a cheese lover). Don't be afraid to skip the parmesean and only put feta on the top in the end. It was still very delicious. I also skipped the butter. I would add even more herbs, but that's me. This is a great way to use up the stems of herbs, in case you struggle to use up those more stringy bits.

Beyond excellent. Made exactly as written and it came out great. This is definitely going on heavy rotation at our house.

I’d recommend not adding the salt, and salt to taste at the end. Probably could have done with zero added salt.

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