Dr Mobeus
Cheesy Polenta with Tomato Sauce
Polenta is one of those ingredients that sounds fancy but is actually one of the cheapest things you can eat. It is just cornmeal, but cooked slowly with stock and finished with butter and cheese, it turns into something genuinely comforting. The quick-cook version takes five minutes rather than forty, which makes this a realistic weeknight option. The tomato sauce is nothing complicated – onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes – but it sits perfectly on top of that creamy, cheesy base. At 64p a portion, this is Italian peasant food at its best: simple ingredients treated well.
Cheesy Polenta with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and oregano, cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes until thickened.
- Meanwhile, bring the vegetable stock to the boil in a separate pan. Slowly pour in the polenta in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
- Cook the polenta for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and grated cheese.
- Taste the tomato sauce and adjust the seasoning. Tear in the fresh basil if using.
- Spoon the creamy polenta into bowls and top with the tomato sauce. Serve immediately.
Tips and Variations
Quick-cook polenta is the one to buy – traditional polenta needs 40 minutes of constant stirring which nobody has time for. Add the polenta slowly to avoid lumps. Any hard cheese works: parmesan, pecorino, or just regular cheddar. The polenta sets as it cools, so serve it straight away for the creamiest result.
