Hazelnut polenta with roasted pumpkin- hazelnoot polenta met geroosterde pompoen(GF-V-SF)

Yesterday I made this polenta dish which is so great with the use of hazelnut meal. I came upon the recipe in a Dutch magazine about organic food: Smaakmakend.

The hazelnut meal gives the polenta a nuttiness and a bite which goes very well with the roasted pumpkin, the white beans and  the goat’s cheese.

Comfort food as it should be, soft, cheesy and hearty. My son even loved it, although he is not a big polenta eater. We liked it so much that I almost forgot to take a picture; with a little left-over I could manage these ones ;-)

Hazelnut polenta with roasted pumpkin (2 pers)

70 g polenta

70 g hazelnut meal

500 ml water

1 tbsp Herbes de Provence

50 g Parmesan

400 g pumpkin, cleaned and in cubes

2 cloves of garlic, in thin slices

1 onion, chopped in half moons

10 black olives, de-pitted and chopped roughly

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, cut fine

2 tbsp olive oil

1 can of big white beans, drained

100-150 g soft goat’s cheese

fresh parsley

Pre-heat the oven on 200 °C. Prepare a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.

Put a big pan on the fire with 500 ml of water and bring to the boil. Mix polenta and hazelnut meal well. When the water is boiling pour in the mixed polenta/hazelnut while you keep on stirring! So no lumps will form. keep on stirring and let the polenta cook conform the description on the package. This can range from 5 -30 minutes, so have a good look what type of polenta you’re using.

In the meantime prepare the vegetables and mix pumpkin, onion, garlic, olives and rosemary with the olive oil, salt and pepper and put in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes, stir half way, till golden brown and cooked. Set aside for a minute till the polenta is baking.

When your polenta is done cooking, mix in grated Parmesan and  pour on a flat oven-proof plate or casserole and, after removing the baking tray with pumpkin, adjust the oven to grilling  and grill the polenta for 3-5 minutes.

Mix pumpkin with the white beans  and gently scoop on top of the polenta and sprinkle goats’ cheese on top and put under the grill for another 5 minutes.

You’re done. Sprinkle some parsley on top and serve with a simple green salad and enjoy this tasty comfort dish.

Winter vegetables green Thai curry part 2

Green curry paste. Since this summer in Thailand I always have a pot in my fridge.

Whipping up a curry is quick and easy, when you have the curry paste ready. You only need coconut milk and the basic Thai ingredients kaffir lime leaf (I buy them frozen in a Chinese supermarket), fresh galangal and lemon grass. You can leave them out and use only your paste; the curry will be nice too, but  the adding of the crushed fresh herbs enhance the flavor to the authentic taste!!

Next time I visit Thailand I hope to get more experienced and learn from the mother of my friend Chumpol, who also happens to know a Thai chef publishing a book right now!! I am waiting for the book to arrive.

The recipe comes from Mai Kaidee’s cooking school and gives the amounts for 1 person. Here you can see one of the very enthusiast cooks at Mai Kaidee’s preparing a green curry.

Because a curry is ready in a sec, after prepping vegetables and cutting herbs, you make the curry per person. The vegetables cook better then and stay crispy.

When you read the recipe you’ll see that there is only 1 handful of vegetables, I use about 250 g because I love my veggies!! You just add a little more coconut milk.

Remember:

1. use the big Thai/Chinese/ spoonful(see my last post).

2. according to the season you can change the vegetables and always have a different kind of curry; for my winter vegetable green Thai curry I used Brussels sprouts, carrot and celery root and sprinkled it with coriander leaves

3. taste, taste, taste and add more flavor to your own liking.

4. when you cannot find Thai basil, just leave it out.

5. I use Aroy-D coconut milk in a 1 liter package, no additives. Because this is a rather thick coconut milk you need some more water; let’s say 3 tablespoons coconut milk need 1 extra tablespoon of water. At Mai Kaidee they prefer Chaokoh coconut milk, but I cannot buy this brand here.

6. prepare everything and set ready in small bowls before you start wokking!

7. I use gluten free tamari instead of the 2 soy sauces.

8. in the end at step 3 you can add pieces of pre baked tofu, or shrimps or fish.

9. eat with a bowl a brown rice or rice noodles.

10. please ask me if you have any questions or suggestions!!