Polenta with peppers and tomatoes

I made polenta recently to go with some pork chops. It is an interesting alternative to the normal carbs, but invariably, I make way too much. This time, I decided to put it in a tray and refrigerate the leftovers in the hope that inspiration would strike.

A couple of days later, after a survey of what we had in the fridge, I decided to pan-fry wedges of polenta and serve them with a sort of stew of red peppers, onion, garlic and tomato on a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

I will admit, I am not a recipe inventor. I am mostly a follower of recipes and rarely cook without one. I was, however, quite happy with my efforts here. The peppers were sweet and juicy and provided lots of flavour for the rather bland base of the polenta. The balsamic gave it some tang and altogether, I thought it worked quite well. The biggest challenge for us when making up recipes is knowing when to stop adding ingredients and I think we did well. Along the way, I didn’t add olives, feta and chilli – all decisions I am happy with.

Polenta with red peppers and tomatoes
Serves 2

100g polenta, cooked according to packet instructions, spread out on a tray and cooled
Red pepper, sliced
Half an onion, sliced
Two tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
Two garlic cloves, chopped
Olive oil
Drizzle balsamic glaze

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and stir for approximately 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook over a medium-low heat for a further 10 minutes. Finally, add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or until everything is soft. Season well.

Meanwhile, heat more olive oil in a frying pan (a grill pan would be even better so you get the fancy lines) over medium heat. Cut the polenta into triangle wedges and pan fry each side for 1 -2 minutes (it is already cooked, so you just need to heat it through).

To serve, drizzle the balsamic glaze onto two plates. Lay the wedges on top and spoon over the peppers.