The Power of Polenta: Polenta with shrimp and tomato recipe

Shrimp Polenta with Heirloom tomatoes

Polenta is one of those great go to foods when you need to make something quick. It is a tasty porridge made from course cornmeal. At most basic, polenta is a simple creamy corn mash cooked with water and salt.

But this humble cornmeal does not have to be plan. It can be jazzed up using flavor variations like stocks, butter, cheese and herbs.

It is commonly served Italian style with a tomato sauce and sausage, but it can also be served with fish, shellfish, poultry, beef, pork or in a vegetarian meal.

Once a simple peasant staple, polenta has gained popularity as a gourmet food that can be seen on menus at upscale restaurants to college dorms alike.

There are a few ways to serve polenta beside for a hot mash.

The high starch content of cornmeal makes cooked polenta form into a solid mass when cooled.

Hot polenta porridge is spread onto a sheet pan and allowed to cooled. Once cooled, the firm polenta can then be cut into shapes and saute’, deep fried or grilled to provide a crisp outer texture.

Another way to serve polenta is in a casserole. Hot polenta is spread into a casserole dish then topped with sauce, vegetables, meat and cheese then baked.

Polenta is found in the bulk section in grocery stores, in instant mixes or in the refrigerated section of in precooked tubes. The cost is around $1.50 per pound, which measure about 2 3/4 cups or around $.20 per serving.

Basic Polenta Recipes: Serve Four

1 1/2 cup of Polenta cornmeal
4 1/2 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of butter (optional)
*use Olive Oil for vegan option

Bring the water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add the polenta, salt and butter and stir in. Bring the heat down to a medium. Cover the top of the pan loosely with tin foil. Stir frequently to make sure the polenta does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 20 minutes.

Variations:

Cheese Polenta:
Substitute one cup of milk for water in the basic recipe and include the butter. Include 1-2 cups of a mixture of grated cheese like Cheddar, Jack, Parmesan and Fontina. Follow the instruction for the basic recipe then stir in the cheese during the last three minutes of cooking. Garnish with grated Parmesan.

Polenta with tomato sauce and sausage:
Use the basic or cheese polenta recipe. Cook a pound of your favorite sausage like sweet or hot Italian sausage and serve with about a third of a cup of your favorite heated tomato sauce per serving and top with grated Parmesan.

Mushroom Polenta: (Vegan)
Use the basic recipe and substitute olive oil for butter. Saute one finely chopped onion, two cloves of garlic and one and half pounds of your favorite mushrooms for seven minutes. Add a quarter teaspoon of dried thyme, and a quarter cup of white wine and cook down. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh chopped parsley and divide a half cup of toasted pine nuts or almonds between four servings.

Polenta and Shrimp:
Use the basic or cheese polenta recipe and add the juice of one lemon, fresh cracked pepper and one teaspoon of smoked paprika when cooking the polenta . Peel and clean three quarters of a pound of shrimp and saute in butter or olive oil with two cloves of garlic till the shrimp is pink on booth sides.

Serve the polenta in a bowl. Divide the shrimp between four bowls and top with fresh chopped scallion.

$2.50:Turkey and Barley Stew

My usual go to grain is short grain brown rice. This is a leftover from my days when I ate a macrobiotic diet. Now that I am eating more locally, I am thinking about other grains. Barley is a grain that is grown here in Michigan, along with oats, corn and wheat. I have yet to find whole grain corn available for making pasole, but I figure it is out there.

Here is a hearty stew made from whole barley. Most barley recipes call for pearled barley which is a more refine product like brown compared to white rice. The upshot is that whole barley comes out chewy and takes much longer to cook, about an hour or more, but it has more nutrition.

I provided a vegan option for this meal. If going vegan, the addition of dried mushroom which including the mushroom tea and perhaps some miso could be use to boast flavor. The addition of chopped nuts or seeds can also be added as a garnish for a hearty vegan option.

I forgot to garb an itemized receipt so there is not a 100% official local food cost breakdown for this meal, but I am sure it fits into a $3-5 range per person.

Turkey and Barley Stew

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound of whole barley, (Hampshire Farms) $1.50

1 pound of ground turkey (can substitute you favor ground meat or sausage), Plum Market $7.00 (Meat is optional, this meal can be vegan)

3 medium size leeks, cleaned and dice, with some green parts (AA Coop) $??$3.00

2 cup of sliced mushrooms (AA Coop) $??$2.50

2 cup of medium diced carrots(Garden works) $1.00

1 quart jar of canned tomatoes with liquid (Home Garden) $1.00

1 cup of frozen peas (not local) $1.00 ???

1/4 cup of organic soy sauce (No Local) $?? 1.50

3 bay leafs

3-4 tablespoons butter (AA Coop) $.50 (Substitute olive or vegetable oil for a vegan option)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Estimated Cost:

Eight servings $2.38

Ten servings $1.90

Vegan Option: $2.50-$1.20 (depending on how fancy you get with the dried mushrooms, nuts and other additions)

Procedure:

In a large heavy bottomed, brown the turkey with the butter. Remove the turkey and add the leeks and mushrooms with a little salt. Stir and cooked them down for around ten minutes. If they start to stick, add a little water. Add the carrots, some bay leaf, the can of tomatoes, the soy sauce, the barley, and turkey. Add about 2-6 cups of water, enough to cover. Barley absorbs a ton of water, so you might need to add more depending if you want this to be more of a soup than a grain dish. Stock can me use to substitute some of the water. Stir in the smoked paprika and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour, or until the barley is cooked. Thaw the peas in put into the stew during the last ten minutes.

Garnish with parsley or scallion.

$1.00 Local Meal: Lentil and Sweet Potato with Feta

Lentil and Sweet Potato with Feta

6-8 servings

Green Lentil 1 LB (Hampshire Farms) $1.75
1 Large Onion, diced (Eastern Market) $.50
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (EM) $1.00
2 cloves of garlic, minced (Ann Arbor FM) $.25
2 Lemon (No local) $.50
1/4 LB Feta Cheese, crumbled (Local from Peoples food coop)$1.00
Chicken Fat (Leftover)
Thyme and Oregano, minced (from home garden)
Salt and Pepper

Home Made bread $.50
Butter 1/4 stick $.25 (from people food coop)

Total 5.75

Per Serving $.95-$.72

Procedure:

In a large pot add some of the chicken fat, or 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or unsalted butter. Add the onion and cook for five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in the sweet potato, lentils and 6-8 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Place cover on with a small gap to let out some steam. Cook until the lentils are soft, about 30-45 minutes. Add the lemon juice, more chicken fat or butter, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with hearty bread with butter, and crumbled feta cheese.

Note: You might want to hold off on the salt until you add the feta which is very salty. This recipe also works with yellow split peas and red lentils. Note that the yellow split peas will take longer to cook. For a creamier richer dish, and stir in some heavy cream.

Pinto Bean and Chicken Casserole w/corn biscuit topping: $2.13 per serving

This is a great recipe for cheap eats. It uses a bunch of tricks to make an economical meal. My money saver tips are adding beans when using meat, left over stock and chicken fat to add flavor and richness, and using corn meal and/or a baked element.

This meal can also be a base for many variation. You can switch the type of beans, the kind of meat, use sausage, fish/seafood, go vegetarian, and/or add cream for richness. I use a buttermilk corn drop biscuit topping, but you can substitute an biscuit recipe you like.

Pinto Beans, Chicken and Vegetables

Pinto Beans (Hampshire Farm) 1 LB $1.50
(Can use an beans you like. Substitute two 16 oz cans of bean for 1 pound of cooked beans)

Chicken Leg, (Sparrow Kerry Town) $3. per pound 21 oz, $3.93
(Can substitute another meat, sausage, seafood, or go vegetarian)

2 1/4 cups left over stock from the other night and some chicken fat.
1/2 cup AP Flour, 5 oz (Westmill) $.62
1 onion (Eastern Market) $.50
3/4 LB carrots (Ann Arbor Farmers Market) $1
broccoli (Eastern Market) $.50
1/2, 8 oz jar of roasted red pepper, jarred at home from FM pepper $1.00
1 small jalapeno pepper (FM) $.25
Garlic (FM) $.25
1/4 stick of butter (Coop) $.25
Dry Thyme, basil and oregano from garden
Smoke Paprika(not local, but could be)
Salt

Procedure:

Soak and cook the beans. Set aside. Brown the meat and set aside. Add the butter to a large pan and saute the onions for a few minutes. Add the carrots and broccoli and cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeno pepper, and red pepper. Add the stock and the flour and combine. Stir in the beans and meat, and add to a large casserole pan.

Corn Biscuit Topping

Corn Meal (Hampshire Farm) 5 oz $.31
Ap Flour (Westmill) 5 oz $.62
1/2 stick of cold unsalted butter $.50
3/4 cup Buttermilk (Calder Dairy) $1.50
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (not local)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (Not Local)
pinch of salt

Procedure:

In a food processor, combine the corn and AP Flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and diced cold butter. Pulse until the mixture is combined to a crumble. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the buttermilk.

Spoon out the corn biscuit dough in blobs on top of the meat, bean, veggie casserole. In a pre-heated 350 degree oven, cook for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is bubbling and the biscuit are golden brown.

season with salt and pepper to taste and hot sauce (optional)

Total: 12.81

4 Really Large servings: $3.20

6 Big servings: $2.13

$2.95 Local Meal: Roast Chicken, Potatoes and Greens

I am on my local food on the cheap kick, which is part of my $3-5 (per person) Local Meal Challenge. Here is todays meal of Roasted chicken legs, potatoes from my garden and mixed greens. The real budget miracle was the potatoes. I grew 40-50 pounds of spuds from about $5 of seed potatoes, which comes to about .10 a pound and about .05 per serving.

The other part of the this meal that is not listed is the chicken bones. They are reserved to make stock.

I also add a few cups of water to the roasting pan which collects the dripping and fat from the roasted chicken on the rack.

Here is a picture of the collected pan drippings and fat. Notice the two layers. The top is the chicken fat and some butter from the brushing the chicken. I let this cool then remove the top fat layer and reserve for potatoes and bean dishes. It is kitchen gold. The tasty broth is reserved to make sauces, and add a little flavor for beans, grains, and even mac and cheese.

Chicken legs have extra fat and skin, which I like to cut off and roast in the toaster oven to create what I call chicken cracklings, or Kosher Cracklings. They make a great little snack with hot sauce and a squeeze of lime.

This meal was very filling. I only ate half of my chicken portion, but most in the family had a full piece.

Roasted Chicken Legs w/ potatoes and mixed greens

Roasted Chicken

4 large 10.25 ounce portion
6 good portions

1/4 stick of butter melted to brush on chicken (local butter from Peoples food co-op) .25

4 chicken legs 2.6 pounds, ($3 per pound) $7.8, Sparrows Kerry Town

salt

$1.95 per large serving
$1.30 per good serving

Oven Roasted Potatoes
4 large portions

2.2 pounds assorted potatoes from home garden .10 per pound
render chicken fat from the skin of the chicken
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (not local, but could be) .20
salt and pepper

.10 per serving

Saute Mixed Dark Leafy Greens
6 portions

Collard and Kale One large bunch of each, $4.00 (Frog Holler)
1 onion $.50 (Eastern Market)
1/4 cup of michigan white wine $1.00
salt

.90 per serving

total:

$2.95 Large Portion
$2.30 Good Portion

$3-5 Submissions

I will be posting links to submission for $3-5 local meals

Here is a submission from MK of Motherskitchen.blogspot.com

The recipe is for crock-pot collard with ham hocks , and cornbread