Hello again! I am back today with my entry for the very special 23rd week of the @cookwithus contest. This week is the first of a three week contest where the winner will be the recipient of a beautiful, handcrafted knife from @docsmith. Besides just getting to join in on the usual fun put on by @chefsteve, @pandamama and @offoodandart, it is so awesome to see such a talented craftsman like @docsmith offer up one of his stunning pieces!
This week was another one that definitely challenged me. I don't often make appetizers or hors d'oeuvres, but this week was the perfect opportunity as we went to a get-together last night. Always nice to pull double duty in creating a dish to share with beloved friends and also knock out my entry for the contest. :)
There are any number of directions to go, but I settled on polenta as the base for my bite-sized nibbles. I have only worked with it once or twice previously, however I thought it would make a great blank slate to build my flavors on. After visiting the farmers market and purchasing some aromatic dill from the hydroponic guys and also another bag of colorful cherry tomatoes, I had my full recipe in mind.
I absolutely adore dill. Though I love all fresh herbs, I think if someone twisted my arm to pick a favorite dill would reign supreme. We tried growing some in the garden this year without much luck. I was really happy to come across some to be able to use not only in this dish, but also a borscht that I will soon be whipping up in my kitchen when I'm done with this post. Besides the dill, I also grabbed some shallots that become so sweet and flavorful when you get a chance to take the time to cook them down on the stove top. Always a fan of using as little dishes as possible, I opted to cook the shallots all at once and use half to amp up the flavor of my polenta and then left the other half to cook with my tomatoes for the chutney.
When I was looking up some inspiration for how to layer flavors into my chutney I saw a lot of recipes using sugar. I thought about tossing in some minced dates to add sweetness, but I'm so glad I decided not to. The fresh little tomatoes were so naturally sweet and ripe that adding to that would have ruined the beautiful flavor. The aromatic shallots and bit of acid from the balsamic vinegar were the perfect accompaniment to enhance but not bury that lovely tomato flavor. I was so happy with how the chutney came out, I will definitely be making it again for all kinds of different uses!
All in all it turned out to be a delicious bite!
Dill Polenta Bites with Cherry Tomato Chutney
Makes 48 small squares & about 1 1/2 cups chutney
- 4 large shallots, peeled & chopped small
- pinch of salt and ground black pepper
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 large bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 (9.2 ounce) package instant polenta (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 4 1/2 cups water or low-sodium vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Place your chopped shallots in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook and stir occasionally, adding a bit of water as needed to prevent sticking. Once the shallots start browning, reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook until soft and fragrant. Should take about 20 minutes.
Scoop out half of the shallots to reserve for the polenta bites. Add the tomatoes, coriander, pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar to the remaining shallots in the pan. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 45 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down and the liquid has reduced to a sauce-like consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Let cool then pulse in the food processor just a few times to break down the tomato skins.
While your chutney cooks, prepare your polenta. Bring the water or stock to a boil over high heat. Slowly whisk in your polenta, stirring constantly to incorporate it into the liquid. Mine only took a few minutes. Remove from heat then stir in the nutritional yeast, dill and reserved shallots. Pour the mixture out into a 9-inch x 12-inch lightly greased pan, then smooth out evenly. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
Once the polenta has cooled and solidified, turn it out onto a cutting board and slice into bite-sized squares. Heat up a large skillet over medium heat, then proceed to toast the bites a few minutes on each side to get a light golden crust. You will most likely have to work in batches so you don't crowd the pan.
Serve with your chutney dolloped on top for a tasty little morsel!
And of course a few more shots to really make you drool...
I look forward to seeing what everyone else brings to snack on for the party! ;)
Banners by @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa
These sound so delicious & full of flavour @plantstoplanks, reminds me of the Dhokla my Gujerati friend makes with a local porridge similar in texture to polenta. Good luck with the contest!
Thanks so much @lizelle! Good luck to you, as well! I need to make my way around to see the other entries for the week. 🙂
Perfect snack for an evening with friends. I love the flavor combination and I think you're right that dates would have destroyed the flavor.
Oh, and I'm in love with the photo of your cherry tomatoes in the pan. SO cute! :)
Thank you for sharing Katie!
They are super cute, aren't they? 😉
It was a really great dish to bring along. The polenta is a little sticky to work with, but really quite simple in the process. So glad you think it looks as good as I thought it tastes! 😊
I really like the polenta option for finger foods. Very much enjoy the texture and how it interacts with any sauce you may add to it.
It really does. I don't know why I have been so hesitant to work with it until now. I'll definitely be using it more often!
The polenta must taste so good with the dill! I also love the tomato chutney with the chili flakes and coriander. The polenta and chutney together sound like a wonderful combination. Very nice hors d'oeuvres entry! Congratulations for advancing to round 2! Good luck!
That dill from the market was so perfect in this! Well, everything from the local market is just so good it makes it easy to create a tasty meal. Thank for selecting mine to go through the first round! I should be posting my mystery box meal later on today. :)
First of all, I apologize for the very late comment.
Now on to your wonderful polenta bites. I actually love polenta but don't make it often enough. Wow, the dill must have elevated the polenta flavor-wise. It also made it look beautiful with the green bits.
Great chutney too. It's amazing how these fresh tomatoes can be so sweet. I can imagine the flavor it imparted to the chutney. Perfect for the polenta!
Thanks for your entry for Round 1 and congratulations on making it to Round 2!
No worries! I know you guys stay quite busy, so I was just honored to make the cut into the next round! Thank you!
I don't make polenta often enough either, so I'm definitely going to be using it more often. That's one of the things I really enjoy about joining in on the contest--you all push me to try new things or just incorporate staples in fun and different ways! :)
Good to hear @plantstoplanks! I know what you mean ... I participated in Steemit Iron Chef last year. I was always challenged every week. The scores were cumulative too so it wasn't a good idea to skip a week. But yeah, I had to push myself to be creative and it was so much fun!
I always try to take a peek into the entries for the Iron Chef challenge because you all always do such a beautiful job! Lots of inspiration there for sure!
I have never had Polenta before but I have seen it used in many recipes. I may have to try this one; the cherry tomato chutney looks heavenly.
I love shallots! They are the best!
The chutney really turned out so delicious! I enjoyed the polenta, as well, but the tomatoes just popped! Working on the next round's entry now... :)
What a perfect way to showcase your tomatoes by making a chutney. Dill is also one of my favorite herbs to use. It's such a flavorful herb and adding it to the polenta along with the shallots is perfect since polenta is neutral in flavor. Best of luck.
These last little end of season tomatoes are so lovely right now, so I wanted to make sure to do them justice. Thank you for the compliment! I am glad I got two bunches of dill from the farmers market so I could use it in my beet soup this week, too. I hope maybe next year I can get it to grow in my garden again so I have access to it all of the time!
Delicious! :)
Thanks babe!
Good luck @plantsoplanks - cherry tomato chutney sounds delicious
Thanks so much @leelektrik! I just polished off the rest of the chutney on some avocado toast and I can tell you it was just as good today as it was on Saturday! Good luck to you on your entry, as well!