Polenta and Fried Eggs
I’m hooked on Monte Vista Organic Farm’s Floriani red flint corn polenta. An heirloom corn originally cultivated in northern Italy, Floriani makes a nicely thick and creamy polenta with a rich flavor.
Recently, on a cold Sunday morning, I cooked some for brunch and topped each serving with an egg fried gently in olive oil and a tad of butter. And, finally, I topped each egg with a couple of tablespoons of Rick Bayless’s Frontera Chipotle salsa. Delicious!
I didn’t use a recipe but just winged it. Here, I’m supplying Melissa Clark’s “Polenta With Parmesan and Olive Oil-Fried Eggs” from The New York Times as a guide for a variety of improvisations.
The Recipe
Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 4½cups low-sodium broth or water
- 1½cups polenta (not quick-cooking), coarse corn meal or corn grits
- ¾teaspoon salt
- 2 to 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
- 11-ounce chunk or ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 large eggs
- Coarse sea salt for garnish
PREPARATION
- In a large pot, bring broth or water to a simmer. Stir in the polenta and salt. Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened to taste, 10 to 20 minutes. Stir in butter and pepper; cover pot to keep warm.
- Using a vegetable peeler, slice cheese into slivers, or grate it on largest holes of a box grater.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil until very hot. Fry 4 eggs until edges are crispy and yolks still runny. Repeat with remaining oil and eggs.
- Pile polenta into 4 bowls and top with cheese and then fried eggs. Garnish with sea salt and more pepper and serve.
This locally inspired recipe is brought to you by Pam Walker. Pam is an avid home cook, writer, and local farm and food activist who is also a board member of the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute. Thank you, Pam, for helping inspire us to use locally sourced ingredients!