Sweet Potato Polenta

I can’t believe Christmas is next week already. Since Thanksgiving was late this year, there definitely isn’t enough time to buy gifts and bake cookies. We just finished most of the shopping on Sunday. Later this week, I will be baking some more cookies. For Christmas dinner, I still haven’t figured out the menu. Oh man… I better start thinking now.

Back to the polenta, with sweet potatoes in season, I stumbled upon this recipe from Southern Boy Dishes. The polenta was simply amazing. It was thick, creamy and slightly sweet. With the sage and thyme, it was earthy and brought out some complex flavors. If you love polenta, you will absolutely fall in love with this. If you haven’t had polenta before, you are missing out. It is a great side dish and it goes so well with steak and seafood. Give this a try. 🙂

Sweet Potato Polenta (Adapted from Southern Boy Dishes)

2 servings

Ingredients:

–   ¾ pound sweet potatoes

–   ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

–   ¼ cup shallot (finely chopped)

–   1½ teaspoon fresh sage leaves (minced)

–   1½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (minced)

–   1¾ – 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

–   ¼ cup, plus 2 tablespoons coarse grind cornmeal or polenta

–   ½ teaspoon kosher salt

–   1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

–   2 tablespoons heavy cream

–   ½ cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Rinse and dry the sweet potatoes. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until fork tender, about 35 – 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
3. Remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and place the flesh in a food processor (or mash with forks in a large bowl). Pulse until smooth. Measure ¾ cup of puree and set aside. Save the rest for some other use.
4. In a medium pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add shallots, sage, and thyme. Cook for 1 minute. Add 1¾ cup chicken broth and bring to a boil. Season with ½ teaspoon salt. While whisking, slowly add the cornmeal. Continue to whisk for 3 – 4 minutes. Add the sweet potato puree and pepper and whisk to combine. Reduce heat to low. Partially cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. If the polenta becomes too thick, add little more chicken broth.
5. Stir in heavy cream and Parmesan. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately.

Tips:

1. I used Bob’s Red Mill brand polenta or cornmeal.
2. Polenta should be a porridge like mixture. Thick and creamy.
3. Polenta can made up to 15 minutes ahead of time and kept covered until ready to serve.

Source: Read