3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fine cornmeal
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1 head curly endive (about 1 pound; 8 cups, chopped)
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
11/2 tablespoons olive oil
dash of salt
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino, Parmesan, or Romano cheese
dash of ground black pepper
Preheat the broiler.
Bring the water to a boil and add the salt. When the water is boiling rapidly, pour in the cornmeal in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the polenta thickens.
While the polenta cooks, rinse the endive well, shake it dry, and finely chop it. In a skillet, lightly sauté the minced garlic in 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the chopped endive and continue to sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until the endive turns bright green and is somewhat reduced in volume. Stir the salt and optional red pepper flakes into the endive, and remove the skillet from the heat.
When the polenta is thickened, stir in the sautéed endive and the grated cheese. Spread the mixture in an unoiled flameproof 10-inch pie pan, brush the top with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil, and sprinkle with black pepper. Broil for about 4 minutes, until the top is crisp and browned.
PER 8-OZ SERVING: 188 CALORIES, 7.7 G PROTEIN, 7.4 G FAT, 23 G CARBOHYDRATE, 438 MG SODIUM, 9 MG CHOLESTEROL.
TOTAL TIME
25 minutes
SERVINGS
4 to 6
MENU
Serve with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Salad (see page 68) or White Bean and Tomato Salad (see page 137). When giant portobello mushrooms appear in the market, grill them and serve them with Polenta with Endive and Easiest Artichokes (see page 77) for a very special meal.
In this recipe the smooth sweetness of the corn is offset by the slightly bitter crunch of the endive.
Leftover Polenta with Endive reheats quite nicely in the oven, or the cold polenta can be sliced and then grilled or pan-fried.