Polenta is not really Greek, but has become very popular as a cooking ingredient. Because of its versatility we can justify corn in the Greek diet easily. According to Diane Kochilas, corn has been part of the Greek table for years! Here is her explanation:
"… most likely introduced and disseminated by the Ottoman Turks, who may have encountered it first in Africa. The Turkish word for corn, misir, is the same as the Turkish name for Egypt. Greeks call corn kalamboki, after the Albanian word kalambok; they also call it arapositi, or “Arab wheat,” again implying a North African-Arab connection. In Crete, they simply call it xenikostaro, which means “foreign wheat.”
We introduced a classic use of corn flour here when we made the Bobota [Day 16: March 9, 2015 - Bobota (Greek Corn Bread) - Μπομπότα (Ψωμί Καλαμποκιού)] Yes, Bobota is a corn bread that was made back in the days with war and extreme poverty. Well, Polenta is really a very soft Bobota! It is made from cornmeal and water and a little salt, but it is kept is a softer, spongy mixture. But, Greeks have their own versions of polenta that are more like creamed cornmeal. They are either sweet or savoury puddings, and variations are found in different parts of Greece. But, we are going to call Polenta by its Italian name. You can find it in the store in tubes, you can buy the mix for polenta in a box, or you can make it from scratch with cornmeal, salt, and water. Pairing Polenta with other foods is a vast topic, so we have chosen one way, that also fits into the guidelines for Orthodox Fasting.
Polenta is available in the stores in many forms. You can buy it pre-made, refrigerated, dry/instant (just add water), or you can buy the cornmeal and make your own. We chose the pre-made polenta in a tube. It is easy to handle and it already has a lovely shape. Since we are pairing with tomatoes, we knew the round discs would look appealing and symmetrical. That matters to us because people do eat with their eyes first! This will take you about 35 minutes start to finish.
For this recipe to serve 4-6, you will need the following:
1 tube of polenta (or about 12 pieces)
2-3 tomatoes (about 12 slices)
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 TBSP chopped olives
1 tsp oregano
oil as needed
Start by slicing the polenta and the tomatoes. You should have slices that are less than 1/2 inch thick, and an equal number of sliced tomatoes to polenta slices. Our tomatoes were small, so we needed 2 tomato slices per polenta slice. And, since it was only 2 of us eating this dish today, we made a small quantity. You will be surprised how filling this really is!
We then pitted our olives so we could chop them. Pitting olives is not that hard. Simply squeeze the two pointy ends with your fingers. Squeeze so that you push the two points together, toward the centre of the olive. The olive will crack and the pit will fall out.
Then, collect all the olive "meat" and chop it to small pieces.
Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a little oil so nothing will stick to the pan. You can use a pan spray here, but it should be a generous spray. We found that the oil gave the polenta a little crispiness at the bottom, whereas the pan spray just prevented the food from sticking. Your choice.
Making a pattern like roof shingles, where one slice overlaps the other, lay a piece of polenta, a slice of tomato, a piece of polenta, a slice of tomato, etc., until the entire quantity of tomatoes and polenta have been arranged in the baking dish. The shingle pattern will give a beautiful appearance that you will be able to serve this directly from the baking dish without having to re-plate (unless you want to)!
Now, sprinkle on top of the shingles the olives, garlic, and oregano. Make sure that you have evenly sprinkled each one so that each piece of this dish is flavoured with oregano, garlic, and olives.
Then, drizzle some oil over the top of the dish, trying to give a bit of a shine to the top. This is a very light sprinkle.
Bake this for 30 minutes at 350º F (192º C). You will see the tomatoes will be soft, the polenta will be firm and creamy, and the olives and garlic on top will be toasty-brown. Serve this immediately (while hot). It is also pretty good when it is room temperature, but it is best hot.
We like this as a side dish to fish, or as a main dish with a traditional lettuce salad. Polenta is filling, inexpensive and versatile. We are pleased to have this recipe in our repertoire. In non-fasting times, you can even sprinkle feta cheese on top before baking, which gives this a whole other kind of flavour.
"Does not the gratitude of the dog put to shame any man who is ungrateful to his benefactors? "
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