Polenta with Roasted Vegetables

I was feeling a little crazy last night and decided to make some polenta. I say crazy because as those of you who've prepared it before know, it can be a little dangerous.

I used Bob's Red Mill polenta and the recipe on the back for Basic Italian Polenta except that I used 1 tbsp olive oil instead of butter and did not add any cheese. And I added some dried oregano, basil and thyme as well as some extra salt and pepper to the mix. Additionally, I cut the recipe size by a third, though I should have cut it by two thirds since there was only two of us. Now I know (and now I have polenta in the fridge).

While my polenta was cooking in the pot (resembling a witch's cauldron), I prepared a few vegetables for roasting:

1 carrot, peeled and cut into quarter-inch rounds
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into quarter-inch cubes (so they'll cook at the same rate as the other vegetables)
A few slices of red bell pepper*
A few slices of yellow onion
A couple of handfuls of broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size portions

I tossed the vegetables in a bowl with about three tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of chopped garlic, a teaspoon of salt, some fresh ground pepper, and a few pinches of dried rosemary, oregano, and basil. I spread the vegetables in a 9 x 13 baking dish and roasted them at 475 degrees for 20 minutes. I then I sauteed some sliced baby portobella mushrooms in olive oil, salt, and pepper on the stove top while waiting on the polenta.

When the polenta finished cooking, I pressed it into a round baking dish to let it set. Had I prepared only what I needed, I would have pressed it into a pie plate, which would have been better for the next step. When it cooled, I cut it into triangles and pan-fried it in olive oil on medium-high heat. I like for my polenta to have a crispy crust. My polenta was a little thicker than I like because I had so much, but it did have a nice crust. It was just a little too polenta-y in the middle for my taste.

Anyhoo--the fun part. As if the bubbling mixture in the pot wasn't scary enough, now it's time to fry this stuff. Polenta will bubble and pop and send little satellites of pure heat in your direction while frying. I suited up with long sleeves and some old gloves for this task, though a couple of stray kernels found their way to my hair (I'm just glad they missed my eyes). But the end result of polenta with a nice, crispy crust makes it all worth it.

When the polenta was done frying, I set it on the plate and topped it with the roasted vegetables and sauteed mushrooms. Viola! A healthy, hearty (and vegan!) meal.