AnchorMommy

Golden Polenta Stars

September 29, 2009 by Shannon

Cute. Kid-friendly. Vegetarian. Gluten-free. And vegan, if you want ‘em to be! Make a batch of these Golden Polenta Stars and give the kids their choice of dipping sauces — marinara, ketchup, ranch dressing or even salsa. These are delicious!

I made these for Kellan and Michael, as well as my twin nephews and my mom, who is gluten intolerant. So considering our wide range of diet preferences, I consider it a pretty successful meal. Kellan ate 5 stars, one of the twins had 2 1/2, and the other had one bite of one star. But he really didn’t eat anything on his plate, so I don’t really consider that a reflection on the meal itself — I think he just didn’t have much of an appetite.

Now, before we get into the recipe, I have to say that I would do a few things differently next time around. I think I would bake the stars rather than than fry them, just for simplicity’s sake. I’d also make the polenta in the slow cooker. I’ll have more details on how to do both following the recipe.

Golden Polenta Stars

• 3 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar (optional)

1. Bring the water and milk to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Once the liquid reaches a boil, slowly pour in the cornmeal while stirring. This will prevent clumping.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the polenta reaches a thick consistency. Stir frequently. (If using cheddar cheese, add to the polenta in the last one or two minutes of cooking and stir thoroughly.)
4. Pour into a greased baking dish and spread evenly. Put the baking dish in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour.
5. Turn out the chilled polenta onto a cutting board and cut into stars with a cookie cutter.
6. Fry in an oiled skillet until brown on both sides and serve.

I love this recipe because it is basic — just 2 ingredients plus water — but I think there are a couple of ways to make the simplicity of preparation match the simplicity of the ingredient list.  Next time I will cook the polenta in a slow cooker overnight on the low setting, just so I don’t have to stand and the stove and stir. Even so, my polenta cooked so quickly that it wasn’t really a problem. Still, there’s no stirring with slow cooked polenta at all! I also plan to bake the stars, so I don’t have to stand over the hot frying pan. They should get just as golden and delicious at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping once after the first 10 minutes of cooking. 

There you have it — enjoy! Don’t forget to serve them with your child’s preferred dipping sauce. We ate ours with some garlicky black beans, guacamole and marinara sauce. I would have served salsa, but we didn’t have any on hand. Still, it was a five star meal!