Polenta for Dinner

Grilled Balsamic Eggplant and Portobello Mushrooms over Sun-Dried Tomato, Arugula and Goat Cheese Polenta

For vegetables: Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds, and remove gills from mushrooms. Marinate both in a balsamic vinaigrette (I make my own with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and salt and pepper) for several hours. Slice an onion into rings. Drain eggplant and mushrooms and grill (including onion rings) until tender and nicely browned. Slice or cut in to chunks.

For polenta: bring 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups milk, and one teaspoon salt to a boil. Slowly pour in 1 cup of polenta, whisking constantly. Lower heat and cook 5-10 minutes, until polenta is soft and thickened. Remove from heat and crumble in 4 oz goat cheese, 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I used oil packed and added a little of the oil too), and two big handfuls of chopped arugula. Stir until combined.

To serve: spoon polenta in to a bowl and top with grilled vegetables. Sprinkle with extra goat cheese.

Farro Salad with Arugula, Fig and Goat Cheese

Emmer Wheat is an old world grain. It was one of the first crops domesticated in the near east and is commonly known as Farro in Italy. Now it is grown in the mountainous regions of Europe. I first came across it in a small mountain town in Washington where it is grown by Bluebird Grain Farms. You can find USA grown farro by clicking on the link.

Here is a recipe I used to make often when I worked as a cook in Washington and grew my own garden.

Ingredients:

1 cup Farro wheat

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp Meyer lemon juice

2 Tbsp Meyer lemon zest

1/2 tsp pepper

1 bunch chopped arugula

1/2 cup parsley leaves

1/2 cup crumbled goat chevre or sheep's milk feta

2/3 cup sliced dried figs

Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil and stir in Farro wheat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook farro until just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and let cool.

Whisk oil, lemon juice and zest, pepper, arugula and parsley together in a medium bowl. Stir in Farro and delicately combine cheese and figs with minimal stirring.

Refrigerate and serve cool.

Shop Bluebird Grain Farms

Arugula

Peppery, luscious arugula has popped back up. It's announcing the start of the greens season in the most delightful way. I pretty much cannot get enough arugula, but if you find that you are tiring of its presence in salads, it may be time to try arugula pesto.

It's the simplest thing in the world. Very fast, amazingly delicious. Fresh, healthy, all good things.

First clean and trim your arugula. Then throw it into a food processor. Add in a good sized handful of pecans, 1 quarter cup grated Parmesan, and enough olive oil to give everything a good shine. Blend it up, and if you find that it isn't coming together, add piping hot water one teaspoon full at a time until you get a consistency that begs to be put on pasta. For a kick, you can dump in some hot pepper, or for more Italian style, stick with some garlic.

More food-processor ideas? Add arugula to homemade hummus instead of cilantro or parsley.

- Christiana