Grilled polenta with caramelised red onions and melted cheese
Crostini di polenta con funghi e cipolle
Valentina Harris
SERVES 4
Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking 20 minutes
A deliciously different, quick and easy autumnal starter, which is quite filling and very appealing to look at. You can use any of the polenta you might have left from the polenta, beans and sausages dish, or if polenta is really not your sort of thing, use toasted crusty Italian bread instead. Personally, I have never yet found a quick-cook polenta that has anything like the kind of flavour I expect to find in my polenta, but do feel free to use this if you prefer or time is really pressing.
8 slices of cooked polenta, about 10cm x 5cm each
a little oil for brushing
250g Fontina or Asiago cheese, cubed
enough milk to cover the cheese
400g red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Start to heat the grill and oil the polenta slices lightly. Meanwhile, put the cheese and the milk in a saucepan and place over a pan of simmering water to melt the cheese and blend it with the milk. Stir frequently. While the cheese is melting and the grill is heating up, cook the sliced onions very slowly with the oil in a frying pan, turning them frequently and adding water, over a low to medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until they are cooked through, sticky and sweet. Season the onions to taste. When the cheese and milk have formed a smooth sauce, grill the polenta on both sides. Arrange two slices of polenta on each plate and cover with some of the melted cheese, scatter the onions evenly on top. Sprinkle each portion with parsley and serve at once.
