A little late but here is a new recipe for ya’ll. Maybe you don’t even really think about it but I try to post every Saturday. Did you notice this? Anyway this weekend was a slow one and so was the week leading up to it. The seasonal change, grey and cold along with some killer PMS set me up for quite the week, haha. Sometimes life just comes at you sideways, much worse for some than these things I deal with I should add, and it has to be alright to take a few days to steer back on track. It is often hard to accept this for me, and I’m sure for many of you. It can be difficult to scrap those plans you’ve been making to just take it very easy but sometimes that’s needed. It’ll pay off in the long run I think. What are your thoughts on this guys?

Slow and low week or not I photographed and enjoyed every morsel of this baked polenta with fresh tomato salsa and avocado smash. Food for me is a lot of things and one of those things is comfort. I think it’s easy to end up just eating junk when we’re feeling a little less energetic than normal but preparing a meal for yourself can be a healing act in itself, at least for me. And even though I ran out of light towards the end of photographing this recipe it was something that brought me joy this week. I’m hoping it will be joyful for you as well; through these photos or through trying it for yourself.

The baked polenta will require a bit of setting time but other than that this is a very time efficient recipe. Once it’s in the oven the polenta will take care of itself and you can focus on getting your toppings ready. I’ve utilised the last of the late summer goodies we can still get a hold of here in the North by using sweet corn in the polenta base and piling tomatoes on top. You could of course go down any other route that tickles your flavour fancy. You could put herbs or other pre-cooked vegetables in the polenta and go for other combos to top it off. Or you could just eat the baked polenta plain with soup or a stew. I think it would be awesome with this tortilla soup I posted a couple of months ago, it would make a Mexican inspired feast. Whatever you do with it I promise it’s a really satisfying addition to any meal or meal itself.

Now I’ve got to go pack for another health coaching course meeting trip. Tomorrow I head off to learn and spend time with my new found course friends. Looking forward to it and am still enjoying being a student a whole lot. Wishing you all a beautiful week and hope you’re cooking up a lot of good stuff with love in your kitchens. Until next time, enjoy! x

BAKED POLENTA W/ FRESH TOMATO SALSA + AVOCADO

YIELDS: 8 pieces /  TIME:  60 min + at least 3 hour setting time

Baked polenta:

1 ear of corn, cooked and cut off cob (roughly one cup kernels, sub frozen if you wish)

1 1/2 cup fine quick cooking polenta

4 1/2 cup water

1 tbsp vegetable stock powder

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Tomato salsa:

1 1/2 cup tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

A handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 lime, juice only

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Avocado smash:

1 1/2 avocado, cubed

1/2 lime, juice only

A pinch of flaked sea salt

Baked polenta:

Bring water and vegetable stock powder to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Pour your polenta into the simmering water while stirring. Continue to stir until it has become thick and cooked through, follow instructions on your brand of polenta (it shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes). Stir in your corn kernels and pour into a non-stick 24 cm (roughly 9 inches) spring form. Place in the fridge for about three hours or over night.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Remove the polenta from the spring form and place on a baking sheet clad baking tray. Cut the round into eight equal size pieces. Brush all sides of the pieces with olive oil and spread evenly on the sheet before baking in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Flip halfway through the baking time.

Tomato salsa:

Prepare and combine all your salsa ingredients while the polenta bakes. Simple place everything in a bowl and mix well. Set aside until polenta is done and then spread onto the baked slices.

Avocado smash:

Simply place the cubed avocado, lime juice and salt in a small bowl and mash/mix well before dolloping onto the baked polenta slices and salsa.