Recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi’s herby polenta with corn, eggs and feta

Yotam Ottolenghi’s herby polenta with eggs, feta and cornmeal, baked in the oven. Photograph: Andrew Scrivani/New York Times

Yotam Ottolenghi
Wed Jun 5 2019 - 11:55
Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Ingredients
  • 255g frozen corn kernels, defrosted
  • 200g baby spinach, roughly torn or sliced
  • 150g coarse cornmeal
  • 50g finely grated Parmesan
  • 5 scallions, thinly sliced, 2tbsp reserved for garnish
  • 20g roughly chopped fresh coriander, plus 1tbsp finely chopped and reserved for garnish
  • 3tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 3tbsp roughly chopped fresh dill
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 530ml whole milk
  • 475ml chicken stock
  • 40g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 140g Greek feta, roughly crumbled
  • 8 medium eggs, at room temperature
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • ½tsp red-pepper flakes

1 Heat the oven to 200 Celsius.

2 Add the corn to a food processor and pulse once or twice, just until roughly chopped. Transfer the corn to a large bowl and add the spinach, cornmeal, Parmesan, scallions, coriander, parsley, dill, garlic, 1½ teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper; stir to combine. Transfer this mixture to a large, deep, ovenproof skillet, then add the milk, stock and butter, stirring gently to mix through. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and give everything a good whisk.

3 Return to the oven and bake until the cornmeal is cooked through and the mixture has thickened (about 20 minutes). Give the polenta another good whisk — it should be quite smooth and not completely set — then stir in half the feta. Increase the oven temperature to 220 Celsius.

4 Use a dinner spoon to make eight shallow wells in the polenta. Crack an egg into each well and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining feta all over, and bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny (10 to 15 minutes).

5 Meanwhile, combine the reserved scallions and coriander in a bowl with the oil. Spoon this mixture all over the polenta and eggs and sprinkle with the red-pepper flakes. Serve directly from the pan. – New York Times

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