Eggplant & White Wine Polenta Stacks

These fun polenta stacks feature two flavors of polenta - one with roasted peppers and the other with Parmesan cheese. A slice of grilled eggplant with a fresh basil and garlic sauce are tucked in between.

I warned my family that if they continued to roll their eyes at me, eventually their eyes would stick in that position. Well, they couldn't stop and I can't say that I blame them. All they heard from me for about an hour was, "Aren't these so cute?", "Look at how pretty they are!", and "Oh my goodness, these are so good!" I should be lucky that all they did was roll their eyes. If I were them, I would have shoved me outside and locked the door.

Last week, I received an email from Nick of Macheesmo and was excited to learn that I was chosen to be a competitor in this month's Foodie Fights. Six food bloggers were chosen to battle "for fame not fortune", using this month's ingredients of eggplant and white wine.

I was inspired by some beautiful Japanese eggplants that I found at my local Asian market, and a polenta appetizer recipe that I saw in Fine Cooking magazine, though I guarantee that this recipe is all my own. I cooked the polenta with a combination of water and white wine, which added a lovely flavor. The polenta was then divided; one half was flavored with a roasted red pepper puree and the other with Parmesan cheese. The flavored polenta beautifully complimented the gently grilled eggplant and accompanying fresh basil and garlic sauce.

The polenta:

Heat 1 cup white wine and 1 ⅔ cups water in a medium sauce over high heat.

Seriously, there's water and wine in there. You were thinking that either I was losing my mind or you needed to get your eyes checked, weren't you? I just wanted to mess with you.

Bring to a boil and add 1 cup polenta.

Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the polenta is very thick, about 15 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Divide the polenta in half and place in two bowls. To the first bowl of polenta, add 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces, and ¼ cup (1 oz) grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well.

To the second bowl of polenta, add 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces, and ¼ cup roasted red pepper puree. Stir well. I roasted one red bell pepper, took the charred skin off, and pureed it in my blender. If you have not previously roasted a pepper, check out my how-to on the subject.

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Pat the Parmesan polenta into one corner of the baking sheet. The square should be about ½-inch thick. Pat the red pepper polenta beside the Parmesan polenta. They should be equal in height. If the polenta sticks to your fingers as you're patting it, dampen your fingers slightly.

Cover the polenta with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

The basil sauce:

Now, you can easily make this sauce in a food processor in about 30 seconds flat. However, I was feeling rather self-righteous and decided to make the sauce (really a pesto) with a mortar and pestle. I was channeling my inner Italian nonna. This method give the pesto a much different texture than when you puree it.

Chop 2 cloves garlic and place it in the mortar with 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

Slowly and evenly grind the garlic and salt until a paste forms.

Using 2 cups of fresh basil leaves (lightly packed), add a few basil leaves at a time to the garlic paste. Do you think I could have chosen some better basil leaves to show you?

Slowly grind the basil leaves to form a paste. Yeah, I know, I'm testing your eyes again. Green basil in a green mortar do not a good photo make.

Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Set the pesto aside.

Preparing the eggplant:

Heat a grill to high. Cut an Asian eggplant into six ½-inch slices.

In a small bowl, combine the eggplant rounds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Place the eggplant slices on the prepared grill and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the eggplant rounds are tender. Set aside.

Building the stacks:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Remove the polenta from the fridge and, using a circle cookie cutter approximately the same diameter as the eggplant rounds, cut out six circles of the red pepper polenta and place them on a baking sheet.

Place one eggplant round on each red pepper polenta round.

Cut out six rounds from the Parmesan polenta and place them on top of the eggplant rounds.

With a very small spoon, carefully scoop a small pieces of polenta out of the top of each polenta stack. Fill each hole with ½ teaspoon goat cheese.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and cook until the polenta is warm and the cheese is melted, 7 to 8 minutes.
Serve each stack on a plate with several dollops of the basil sauce. Stick a small basil leaf in the melted cheese of each stack to garnish.

Other eggplant recipes:

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan with Zucchini
Baked Eggplant with Meat Sauce
Roasted Vegetable Puttanesca Pasta

Eggplant & White Wine Polenta Stacks with Fresh Basil Sauce

Polenta:

1 cup dry white wine
1 ⅔ cups water
1 cup polenta
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
¼ cup (1 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup pureed roasted red bell pepper

Basil Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Eggplant:

1 Asian eggplant, cut into six ½-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoon goat cheese
6 small basil leaves to garnish

The polenta:

In a medium sauce pan, combine the wine and water and bring to a boil. Add the polenta and stir until the polenta is very thick, about 15 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Divide the polenta in half and place in two bowls. To the first bowl of polenta, add 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces, and grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well. To the second bowl of polenta, add 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces, and ¼ cup roasted red pepper puree. Stir well.
Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Pat the Parmesan polenta into one corner of the baking sheet. The square should be about ½-inch thick. Pat the red pepper polenta beside the Parmesan polenta. They should be equal in height. If the polenta sticks to your fingers as you're patting it, dampen your fingers slightly.

The basil sauce:

This sauce can be made in a food processor in about 30 seconds flat. However, a more interesting texture will be achieved if made with a mortar and pestle.
Place the chopped garlic in a mortar with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Slowly and evenly grind the garlic and salt with a pestle until a paste forms. Adding a few fresh basil leaves, grind the basil into the garlic paste. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set the pesto aside.

The eggplant:

In a small bowl, combine the eggplant rounds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Place the eggplant slices on the prepared grill and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the eggplant rounds are tender. Set aside.

Building the stacks:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Remove the polenta from the fridge and, using a circle cookie cutter approximately the same diameter as the eggplant rounds, cut out six circles of the red pepper polenta and place them on a baking sheet. Place one eggplant round on each red pepper polenta round. Cut out six rounds from the Parmesan polenta and place them on top of the eggplant rounds. With a very small spoon, carefully scoop a small pieces of polenta out of the top of each polenta stack. Fill each hole with ½ teaspoon goat cheese.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and cook until the polenta is warm and the cheese is melted, 7 to 8 minutes.
Serve each stack on a plate with several dollops of the basil sauce. Stick a small basil leaf in the melted cheese of each stack to garnish.

Makes 6 stacks.

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