Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Pumpkin Polenta With Chipotle Pintos And Roasted Vegetables

I was looking for something to make for dinner, but the pantry and refrigerator were pretty empty and I couldn't get to the store. The one thing there was a lot of was pumpkin puree (the result of processing the Halloween pumpkin), so I started a Google search for recipes with that as my inspiration ingredient. 

After discarding all of the sweet recipes, side dishes, and those that called for ingredients I didn't have there were two possibilities. Both of them mixed pumpkin puree into a basic polenta. One called for spooning chipotle-spiced pinto beans on top. The other was topped with roasted vegetables. I took the best of both recipes, added a sprinkle of cheddar, and called it dinner.

Polenta is very easy to make. You mix corn meal with water or broth (for four servings I used a cup of corn meal, two cups of broth, and a half teaspoon of salt), heat it till simmering, then turn the heat down very low and cook it for 40-45 minutes, stirring several times so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Polenta is done when the mixture is thick and smooth, with no corn meal graininess left. Some recipes call for adding butter, cream, or cheese at this point. I mixed in two cups of pumpkin puree and a tablespoon of butter.

For the beans, I sauteed two cloves of garlic in a little olive oil, then added three cups of pinto beans along with their juice, a teaspoon of cumin, a little salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of chipotle in adobo and simmered them until the liquid was almost gone.

The vegetables were a mixture of onion, garlic, and Normandy blend of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots roasted at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. (Most recipes call for oil, but I don't think it's necessary and left it out).

The recipe made four servings. Since there were only two of us eating dinner, it lasted for two meals.

11 comments:

  1. I love putting recipes together and coming up with a hybrid. Your dinner creation looks delicious.

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    1. I can't remember the last time I followed a recipe as it was written :-)

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  2. You did a fabulous job! It looks healthy and delicious!

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    1. Thank you. Yes, it was both easy on the diet and tasty.

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  3. Hmm, interesing. I've never had polenta. That looks like something I might need to test on Jerry!! Thank you for the recipe!

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    1. You're welcome! Polenta has a reputation for being fussy, but I've always found it easy. My proportions lead to a dish that's spoonable. If you'd prefer something that you can slice you can search the web for recipes.

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  4. Does it go with a pint of Guinness?

    God bless.

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    1. I was all out, but I bet it the stout flavor would go great.

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