Polenta and Zucchini Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

A relatively easy salad to make which is packed full of flavor and vitamins. This recipe is adapted from Marie Claire book, ‘Zest‘. Polenta was formerly known as peasant food and is fairly bland but when mixed with cheeses or tomato sauces, polenta comes to life. Cooked polenta can also be shaped into balls, patties or sticks and fried in oil until golden brown and crispy.

Serves 4 (as a starter)
75g (1/2 cup) polenta
2 teaspoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 zucchini, sliced on the diagonal
2 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
150g baby spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 200c. In a large saucepan, bring 350ml (1 1/3 cups) of salted water to a boil. Slowly pour in the polenta and stir until the polenta thickens and begins to draw away from the sides of the pan. Sir in the butter and remove from heat. Pour the polenta onto a tray or flat plate until 1cm (1/2 inch) thick. Allow to cool. Put the zucchini on a baking tray and brush with olive oil. Bake until soft and cooked through. Slice the cooled polenta into rectangular chips.

To make the blue cheese dressing, combine the blue cheese, extra virgin olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Layer the zucchini, polenta and spinach onto four serving plates and drizzle with the dressing.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: Pan frying the zucchini works just as well if you don’t want to use the oven. Another idea is to cut the polenta into wedges and top with spinach, zucchini and top with the cheese dressing.