I’ve been a little obsessed with eating beautiful ripe organic peaches with soft and warm organic polenta, with just a sprinkle of brown sugar. The flavors of the corn and peaches are surprisingly complimentary and make for a comforting and satisfying breakfast, or even, as a dessert.

soft polenta and figs

Polenta with Peaches

While I usually eat this while the polenta is soft, I decided to take it up a notch this morning by allowing the polenta to set for an hour and then sautéing it to get a crisp crust on it while keeping the inside soft. The result was a wonderful and pretty dish that could easily be made to accommodate  larger groups. I also found some gorgeous organic Calimyrna figs at the market, so I’ve added those into the mix.

Peach and Polenta collage 2

Polenta with Peaches
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 8 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic Polenta (hands down, the best polenta)
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3 ripe peaches
  • 4 ripe figs
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Light olive, canola or corn oil for frying.
  • Handful of mint leaves
Instructions
  1. Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan.
  2. Slowly pour the polenta into the water in a steady stream while whisking constantly.
  3. Switch to a long handled wooden spoon, as the polenta can bubble and spit.
  4. Stir in the salt, butter and honey.
  5. Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir every two to three minutes as the mixture begins to thicken.
  6. Once it is thick, after about 20 minutes of cooking, pour the mixture into a 8 x 8 inch buttered glass or ceramic baking dish and smooth out with a spoon or spatula.
  7. Cover with some waxed paper or foil and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
  8. Once the polenta is set, carefully remove it from the dish by placing a flat sheet pan or plate over the top and flipping it over. It should come out of the dish very easily.
  9. With a sharp knife cut the square first in quarters and then in eights on the diagonal (see photo).
  10. Heat some oil in a sauté pan.
  11. Once the oil is hot, place the polenta slices in the pan and sauté for 4-5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and crisp (the corn can pop and spit hot oil here so be careful. I usually wear a large oven mitt).
  12. Transfer polenta slices to a serving dish.
  13. Slice the peaches, quarter the figs and arrange the fruit on the polenta slices.
  14. Roughly chop the mint and scatter over the slices.
  15. Just before serving, sprinkle a little brown sugar over each polenta slice.
  16. Serve as is or with a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream.
Notes
The polenta can be made the night before and then fried and kept warm in the oven until you're ready to serve it.

If you'd like to serve this as a dessert, you could garnish it with some whipped cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

This can easily be made vegan by using oil instead of butter.

Peach and Polenta collageEnjoy!