Here’s a delicious vegetarian entrée where all the cooking is done on the grill. This is another great use for the Wild Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil that you may still have left from the Apple and Sausage Stuffing recipe we posted for Thanksgiving. The texture of the grilled polenta goes well with the other ingredients and the drizzle of Traditional balsamic at the end finishes the dish beautifully. The measurements of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic in this recipe are just a guideline; indulge to your liking! You can grill your ingredients ahead of time and keep them warm in the oven; when it’s time to serve, toss your arugula and assemble.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound 2 ounces polenta (18-ounce roll)
- 1 medium-large eggplant
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 7 tablespoons Olive This! Wild Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil, divided
- 4 ounces arugula
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Olive This! Traditional 18-year Aged Balsamic, divided
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat grill to med-high heat. Alternatively, you can use an oiled grill pan on the stovetop, turning it on later in the recipe.
Cut eggplant into ½ inch slices. If you have large-sized discs of eggplant, cut the disc in half, forming two half circles. Remove the seeds and ribs of the red bell pepper and cut into eight strips. Carefully slice polenta about ½ inch wide producing at least 12 discs. For the polenta, use a knife with a narrow blade or the wire of a cheese board cutter works perfectly.
To prepare the ingredients for grilling, drizzle approximately 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a zig-zag stream onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place polenta on the stream of oil and smear to coat the bottom of the polenta. Repeat the same process for the eggplant slices.
Brush about 3 tablespoons of EVOO on the top sides of the polenta and eggplant slices.
Toss strips of red bell pepper with 1 tablespoon EVOO in a medium sized bowl. Add strips of red bell pepper to baking sheet for grilling. Set the EVOO coated bowl aside for dressing the arugula.
Generously salt and pepper the grilling ingredients (polenta, eggplant and red bell peppers).
If using a grill pan on the stovetop, heat pan to medium-high heat and oil pan until shimmering but not smoking. Transfer polenta, eggplant and red bell peppers to hot grill. Grill each side until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Loosen and turn the polenta gently so as not to break apart.
Meanwhile, whisk together 1 tablespoon of EVOO with 1 tablespoon of the Traditional balsamic in the bowl set aside earlier. Toss the arugula in the O&V dressing.
To plate, split the dressed arugula evenly onto four serving dishes. For each serving, layer ingredients alternating about 3 discs of polenta, approximately 3-4 slices of eggplant and 2 strips of red pepper. Generously drizzle about ½ teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (or more to taste) over each serving. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
SERVES 4
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