I'd been thinking a little about stuffing veggies, how much the vessel imparts flavor, and what the difference in flavor would be using it as the vessel versus just having it in the stuffing. So I decided to try the same recipe (polenta & spinach- recipe at end) stuffed in a tomato and a pepper. I also made batches of the stuffing cooked with some tomato (innards) or pepper mixed in.
My theory was: using the food as the vessel imparts minimal flavor to the stuffing (ie only to the stuffing directly touching the walls). Roasting it in the oven allows the flavor of the vessel to develop more cleanly than it does cooked with the stuffing. Cooking with the stuffing will spread that flavor all around, but it won't be as sweet/roasted as if it had been the vessel.
I put a little pecorino on top of everything before they went in the oven. This is them about 40 minutes later. I'd say my theory was mostly correct. The veggies cooked faster in the polenta then as the vessel, but the flavor was definitely cleaner when it was the vessel.
What surprised me was how I would rank them.
My definite favorite was the pepper in polenta. The flavors worked the best for me- the savory, slightly bitter green pepper cut through the richness of the polenta. The flavor spread a bit, but it was a note that matched well with the rest of the flavors.
Second favorite was stuffed tomato. Liked the contrast of the uber roasted tomato, though roasting the tomato made it rich and sweet, which can get a little cloying.
Cooking the veggies inside the polenta definitely heated them faster (a little more on that on the next pic), so the tomatoes got even more sweet and roasty here. You can see how much more the softer tomato spread (as opposed to the pepper)- the polenta is getting orange in places. I didn't like the mix of those flavors as much. Raw tomatoes I love with polenta (as in this), but this all was a little too heavy for me. I may have liked it more had I removed it from the oven sooner.
And lasty was the stuffed pepper- though that was mostly due to how much longer it takes for a pepper to roast. In the polenta the pepper was perfectly delicious and soft- and with this the part towards the bottom that actually made contact with the pan was lovely- but it needed more time that I didn't have to cook. The more you know!
And if you can't tell, all that baked polenta was undercooked and a little gritty- you can still see that the little pearls of cornmeal haven't popped. I started the polenta by itself, and used about half of it for stuffing, the rest stayed on the stovetop to finish up. I was hoping the time in the oven would finish those off but no dice.
Even the stuff on the stovetop- seen here before putting it in the fridge- is still not quite there. It's 90%, I just ran out of cooking time. Undercooked polenta, like undercooked grits, makes me a little sad. They're still tasty, but when they're done well... it's just, you need to try it.
Onto that stuffing:
Polenta:
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup milk (what I had)
- 3 cups water (plus an additional cup when I noticed it getting a little thick during the cooking process)
- 1 teaspoon of salt (may want a little less, this was a little salty)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Heat everything but the polenta until it's basically boiling, then rain in the grain while whisking. Keep whisking until it gets thick, then turn down the heat and cook on low until it's no longer gritty.
Spinach Stuffing:
- 1.5 cups polenta
~ 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
~ oil
Heat the onions in oil until translucent, add the garlic, mix briefly until fragrant, then add the spinach. Cook until wilted, then mix with polenta.
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