Fresh Corn Polenta "Pizza"
An easy summer recipe that the whole family will love (babies included!)
Hi friends,
With the arrival of summer heat and all the lovely produce that comes with it, we’re giving you one of our favorite summertime sheet pan dinners: polenta “pizza.” Polenta, you say? We know, we know: this humble cornmeal is more often associated with cozy, wintry fare, but we urge you not to forget about it in the warmer months—especially because it achieves maximum deliciousness when combined with fresh kernels of sweet, summery corn. Here, we’ve topped ours with velvety rich tomato paste, garlicky cannellini beans, mozzarella and fresh basil, but you can of course riff away—it’s a great vehicle for any number of combinations of summertime produce and cheese (sungold cherry tomatoes + feta cheese + oregano is an especially good pairing) or, for that matter, any favorite meaty toppings (like sausage or bacon, etc.).
This recipe is great for a crowd (just double or triple the recipe), but also great for someone who’s too time-constrained or daunted to make pizza dough. It’s even great for a family that includes newer eaters—just be mindful of the corn for any toothless diners, and smash the kernels with the back of a fork.
Greta + Fanny
The Recipe
The Stats
Active time: 20 minutes, total time: 40 minutes
Yields 16 pieces
Ingredients
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob using this genius method
2 cups of quick cooking, dried polenta (we like Bob’s Red Mill) plus a bit extra for dusting
6 cups of water, or 4 cups of water and 2 cups of bone broth
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
~ 1 cup parmigiano reggiano
1 can of cannelini beans, rinsed, drained and dried
6 cloves of garlic minced very finely
3.5 oz tomato paste (~7 tablespoons)
? tsp Fennel seeds (optional)
1 tsp of dried oregano
~ 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or torn slices of dry mozzarella balls
A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
This organic polenta is delicious and cooks quickly—perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
The Method
Preheat the oven to 450F.
In a small bowl, toss the beans, minced garlic, a glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and set aside.
Cook polenta on the stovetop in a heavy-bottomed pot according to the package’s directions. For the Bob’s Red Mill polenta we like best for weeknight polenta needs, start by boiling six cups of water. When the water is at a rolling boil, pour in the two cups of polenta, stirring the water with a whisk the whole time to avoid forming clumps. Turn the water down to low and let the polenta absorb the water over the next 5-10 minutes, stirring often.
When the water has absorbed into the polenta, keep the heat on low and stir in butter, corn, half the parmigiano and a couple of pinches of salt to taste. (“To taste” is kind of impossible at this moment because the polenta is the temperature of lava, but taste it whenever you can do so safely.) Turn off heat.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 12 x 16 baking/roasting pan with a glug of olive oil. (You can use a paper towel or pastry brush to really spread the oil around.) Dust the greased pan with a scant handful of dried polenta. Pour the cooked polenta into the pan and use a spatula to even it out. Set aside for about 10 minutes, to allow it to firm up.
When the polenta has congealed and cooled, use a spatula to spread the tomato paste over the surface, leaving a ?” thick “crust” all the way around. Follow with a sprinkle of fennel seed (if using), the garlicky bean mixture, the dried oregano and finally the cheese!
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the edges of the “crust” are crispy and golden brown. Top with basil and a pinch of salt and dig in!
Notes: of course different sized pans also work, just be mindful that you want your polenta no deeper than ~?-1 inch!
Hi! We’re Fanny and Greta, dear friends with deep backgrounds in sustainable food—who also happened to have had babies within a month of each other in 2022. With toddlers now in our arms, we’re in the thick of figuring out how to introduce our kids to yet more of the world of food while also feeding the rest of our families and, you know, working, and occasionally bathing ourselves. As everyone who has come before us well knows, this is a genuine challenge, so we launched the Green Spoon as a way to capture our learnings in real time and create a place for parental solidarity.
