This grilled polenta is perfectly crispy! Serve with rosemary-infused kidney beans and tomatoes for a delicious vegetarian Italian recipe.
Years ago Alex and I started a food blog called A Couple Cooks. We had a personal blog at the time, but it was so full of food photos that we decided to start a food blog to focus on our growing interest in cooking. We bypassed the name. After an intense brainstorming session, I came up with A Couple Cooks And a couple of cooks – got it?). Alex was a bit suspicious but we went for it.
Now we can’t imagine our life without it. It led us to a career in the food industry and helped us write our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking. Here’s a recipe we made to celebrate our site’s third anniversary: this grilled polenta with white beans. This is an incredibly delicious, sophisticated, and pretty easy Italian dinner recipe!
Continue reading: Classic creamy polenta
PS, this is what A Couple Cooks looked like the first day we started: August 6th, 2010!
How about a back date?
We created this Grilled White Bean Polenta Recipe to celebrate the third anniversary of A Couple Cooks. And in the spirit of “A Couple Cooks” a perfect recipe for a cooking date for two! For this recipe, making it with a significant other, friend, or family member is fun: it doesn’t have to be, of course! We love “kitchen dates” because they’re a wonderful way to feed yourself and spend time with a loved one. Instead of going to a restaurant for a special occasion, stay home and make a date by cooking a recipe together. That way, you’ll enjoy a meal that you’ve invested more in because you created it yourself, and it’s usually healthier too!
How to make grilled polenta
This grilled polenta recipe is delicious and easy to make: it combines polenta with tomatoes, kidney beans, garlic and rosemary. The flavors are simple yet sophisticated, making for a delicious summer meal. If you’re looking for a vegetarian Italian recipe, this is a fun main dish that breaks from the standard pasta.
We used an abbreviation for this grilled polenta: it’s pre-made polenta that you can buy in a tube at the store. You can make your own polenta and chill it before making this recipe, but using store-bought ready-made polenta is easier and has the perfect texture for grilling. And the cooking in this recipe doesn’t take place on an actual grill (although you can too!): it’s simply grilled in a nonstick pan on the stove. Simply cut the prepared polenta into slices, brush with olive oil and grill in the pan for a few minutes on each side. The garnish of garlicky white beans with rosemary and tomatoes takes over!
Looking for more vegetarian Italian recipes?
Aside from this Grilled White Bean Polenta Recipe, here are some of our favorite vegetarian Italian recipes that are both delicious and healthy:
This recipe is…
This grilled polenta with white beans and tomatoes recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
The description
This grilled polenta is perfectly crispy! Serve with rosemary-infused kidney beans and tomatoes for a delicious vegetarian Italian recipe.
- 24-ounce polenta prepared in a tube
- 15-ounce cannellini beans
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs (do not replace dried ones)
- 1 tbsp Olive oil and more for brushing
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Kosher salt
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Cut the polenta into slices about 1.5 cm thick. Drain and rinse beans.
- Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Chop the garlic. Remove the rosemary leaves and chop finely.
- Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush pan with olive oil; Do the same with both sides of the polenta slices. Place the slices in the pan and fry 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the slices from the pan and cover to keep them warm.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and garlic to the pan and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the beans, balsamic vinegar, chopped rosemary, freshly ground black pepper, and a few pinches of kosher salt. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until heated through.
- Serving: Arrange the polenta slices on a plate. Spread the bean and tomato mixture evenly over the polenta and sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan. Garnish with the remaining sprigs of rosemary, if you like.
Remarks
Adapted from Cooking Light
This recipe works perfectly for two as there are two separate cooking tasks. Cook with your partner, friend, family member – anyone willing to spend some time in the kitchen!
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Italian
Keywords: Grilled Polenta, Polenta Recipes, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Dinner Ideas, Vegetarian Dinner, Italian Recipes, Kidney Beans
