Ye Olde Renaissance Thanksgiving Recipe

As we embark upon the week where we give “thanks,” we thought that we could provide you with a recipe that you can use to supplement your meal.  Although Thanksgiving is a relatively young holiday, it does not mean that we can not include dishes from an older time.  A combination of new and old can enhance any meal.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today’s recipe is an old Italian dish that was originally found on a poem written by Petrarch.  Italy was the birth place of the Renaissance.  This dish can be used as a side dish for your feast.

Sun-dried Tomato and Olive Polenta

 

Ingredients:

~ 1 cup instant polenta

~ 4 cups vegetable broth

~ 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

~ 2/3 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

~ 2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomato

~ 1/3 cup sliced kalamata olive

~ ½ cup sliced fresh basil

~ ¼ cup olive oil

~ ½ cup flour

  1. Boil the vegetable broth; once boiling, stir in the polenta.  Let mixture simmer on low heat while stirring frequently for 15 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan, feta, tomatoes, basil, and olives.
  3. Once you’ve stirred in the ingredients for step 2, put the mixture in a greased cake pan and spread the mixture evenly.  Press down if necessary.
  4. Let the mixture firm up in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.
  5. Once firm, cut the mixture into slices (about 16 slices total) and coat them in flour, taking care to shake off the excess.
  6. Fry the floured polenta in olive oil until nicely browned, then drain on paper towel.

Enjoy!  If you are running with a Renaissance theme for your Thanksgiving meal, do not forget to have your servers bring forth the food in their wench outfits.  Have a nice holiday!

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