Hello everyone, Jess here. Happy Meatless Monday! I hope you don’t mind that I’m on a bit of a sweet potato kick. This is my last one from Winter CSA Pickup #4. They’ve been yummy!
I had some corn meal from Four Star Farms to use, and was inspired to try these little numbers from down under. This recipe is adapted from a fellow blogger hailing from Australia, Sarah McCleary. Her blog Belly Rumbles has a lot of fun and tasty recipes, provided the conversions are done correctly. I think mine were a little off (they were a little but soft but I believe I corrected the ratio here.)
For the polenta: (I made more than needed for this recipe):
- 1 3/4 cups corn meal
- 4 cups stock
- 3 tbsp butter
Bring the stock and 2 cups of water to a boil before whisking in the corn meal. Reduce the heat and stir for about 15 minutes until things start to thicken. The polenta liquid should be absorbed and the mixture should be thick for this recipe.
For the bites:
- 2 cups of polenta
- 1 cup sweet potato
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Cook the sweet potato until tender and then mash.
- Stir the thickened polenta into the mashed sweet potato along with the gruyere, butter and thyme (I used a stand mixer with a paddle attachment). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the mixture on a piece of plastic wrap, then cool and smooth out to a large rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cover the rectangle with plastic wrap an put in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
- Once the polenta is set, preheat the oven to 375.
- Carefully unwrap the polenta and cut into 1 inch cubes.
- Bake the bites on a cookie sheet at 375 for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, and use remaining polenta to make Polenta Dippers.