Polenta Frittata with Mushroom, Tomato and Basil

This vegan Polenta Frittata with Mushroom, Tomato and Basil is here to answer our savoury prayers! Frittatas used to be a staple recipe I would make AT LEAST once a week before going plant-based; literally eating it any time of day for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. All-day breakfasts are a staple in our home, and for this and so many other reasons frittatas were our go to recipe.

Think early Saturday mornings when you're in the mood for a sit down breaky with tea and toast. What do you need? Frittata! Or, coming home at 8 p.m. after a long days work and wanting something quick and easy. What you gonna make? Frittata! So giving up this staple recipe was by no means easy. I would class egg bakes up there along with cheese as the hardest addiction to quit...

But the other day I had a eureka moment when cleaning out my pantry. I stumbled upon a box of polenta when the frittata idea came to mind. I had been holding this box hostage for MONTHS with no concrete plans for its use. And to be honest had sort of casted the cornmeal as a total dud after attempting Gweneth Paltrow's creamy polenta recipe. To my chagrin the recipe far resembled Gweneth's pretty polenta, but ironically looked like a big bowl of Goop! I had not anticipated how thick and gelatinous the polenta would get. And like a too-thick soup it was spewing hunks of boiling polenta like an erupting volcano. Not knowing whether to duck for cover, or attempt to save dinner, I quickly removed it from the stovetop...and called for take-out. I returned to discover that it had set into a thick yellow bake, which you could literally cut with a knife and eat like pie. I was so confused by the series of events that I vowed to never use polenta again!

But now here I was, on this day of Spring cleaning, with a change of heart. And I reflected on just how similar the gelatinous polenta had resembled cooked eggs. How hadn't I realized it before? Yes, I might not be able to make creamy risotto style polenta I was hoping for, but I could totally get a frittata style bake!

And so I gave it another go - using the polenta just like I would use eggs in a frittata recipe. Beginning by frying up vegetables, then adding the polenta and letting it bubble into a firm yellow bake. The end result was savoury bliss! It so resembled the days of our beloved egg frittata bakes.

So it's safe to assume that I'll no longer be dusting off the polenta box at the back of the cupboard next Spring. But that it will take precedence in our cooking for creating delicious savoury frittata bakes.

As for creamy polenta porridge? I'll leave the Goopy stuff to the experts.

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Polenta Frittata with Mushroom, Tomato and Basil

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Serves: 4-6 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 10 mins

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Ingredients:

• 4-5 garlic cloves

• 1 onion

• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp coconut oil

• 300g white mushrooms

• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

• pinch paprika

• pinch cayenne (optional)

• sea salt and pepper

• 150g instant polenta (approx. 1 cup)

• 750ml vegetable broth

• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved

• fresh basil, for topping

• sesame seeds, for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to broil. Chop your garlic and onion, and add to a cast iron skillet with 1 tbsp coconut oil. Cook on medium-high heat stirring occasionally until onion becomes translucent in colour (approx. 10 minutes). Chop mushrooms and add to skillet. Cook until softened (approx. 10 more minutes). Remove cooked veg from skillet.

2. In a mixing bowl add your polenta, nutritional yeast, paprika, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add 1 tsp coconut oil to pan (still on medium high heat) and toss in your polenta mixture. Gradually pour in vegetable stock, beating polenta as you go to prevent lumps. Keep beating the polenta until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Then add cooked veg back to the skillet, stir to combine and season with more sea salt and pepper.

3. Remove pan from heat and top polenta with chopped cherry tomatoes. Place polenta frittata in the oven to broil for 7-10 minutes, or until cherry tomatoes are bright and bursted.

4. Remove polenta frittata from oven, allow to cool slightly and top with fresh basil leaves. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Approvals:

Allergies:

VEGAN - VEGETARIAN - WHEAT-FREE - GLUTEN-FREE - DAIRY-FREE - SOY-FREE - NUT-FREE

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