Eat the rainbow II - Broiled Polenta with Ratatouille

Today's recipe definitely fits in with ARF at Sweetnicks. In a single recipe, I ate the entire rainbow. Well almost.

Red - red bell pepper, red kidney beans, tomatoes - canned & dried
no orange
Yellow - yellow bell pepper, polenta
Green - zucchini
no blue - but what's a blue veggie?
Violet/Purple - eggplant

If that doesn't give enough veggies, what does? And to add to the pleasure, not only was it healthy, but delicious. And large portions!

This recipe also gave me the opportunity to try out polenta logs. It's interesting - I tasted what I thought was chicken broth in the polenta, but according to the ingredient list, there was none in it. I'm not sure how I feel about the product. When I opened the log, some liquid came out, so it was a bit messy. I liked the chicken-y flavor, but I wasn't sure about the texture. It also took longer to broil the cheese in the recipe than it listed - about 2x longer.

I can definitely see repeating this recipe. Maybe with a pile of creamy polenta instead of the discs.

To see all of the wonderful recipes in this week's roundup, check out Sweetnicks.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Broiled Polenta with Ratatouille

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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8 sun-dried tomato halves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion -- coarsely chopped
5 garlic cloves -- finely chopped
1 (3/4-pound) eggplant -- unpeeled and cubed
1 (1/2-pound) zucchini -- cubed
1 red bell pepper -- seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 sweet yellow pepper -- seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil
30 ounces canned kidney beans
16 ounces polenta in logs -- refrigerated tube
1/4 ounce grated parmesan cheese

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in warm water to cover until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain, discarding the liquid, then chop the tomatoes.

Meanwhile heat a nonstick Dutch oven. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion and garlic. Saute until golden, about 7 minutes. Add the eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, sugar, salt, ground pepper, and the chopped sun-dried tomatoes; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are softened and the flavors are developed, about 30 minutes. Stir in the basil during the last 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Cut the polenta into 12 crosswise slices; arrange on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the cheese and broil 5 inches from the heat until hot and the cheese is golden, about 4 minutes.

Serve the ratatouille with the broiled polenta rounds.

Source:
"Simply Delicious"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 295 Calories; 4g Fat (11.1% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 55g Carbohydrate; 16g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 1150mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 3 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0