Roasted Vegetable Salsa with Grilled Polenta Cakes

Name: Roasted Vegetable Salsa with Grilled Polenta Cakes
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 11
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 teaspoons black pepper; 0 teaspoons dark sesame oil; 1 liters (1-inch) cubed peeled eggplant (about 1 medium); 118 milliliters coarsely chopped fresh basil; 1 whole garlic head; 2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice; 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind; 1 Tbsp olive oil; 355 milliliters (1-inch) pieces onion (about 1 medium); 482 grams refrigerated polenta, cut into 1/2-inch slices; 473 milliliters (1-inch) cubed red bell pepper (about 1 medium); 1 teaspoons salt; 473 milliliters (1-inch) pieces seeded tomato (about 2 medium)

Roasted Vegetable Salsa with Grilled Polenta Cakes might be just the hor d'oeuvre you are searching for. One serving contains 207 calories, 5g of protein, and 2g of fat. This recipe serves 11. The Fourth Of July will be even more special with this recipe. Head to the store and pick up polenta, lemon juice, lemon rind, and a few other things to make it today. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 45 minutes. This recipe is typical of Mexican cuisine. It is a good option if you're following a gluten free and vegan diet.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 42

Equipment you will use

Oven

Place eggplant, bell pepper, and onion in a single layer on a large jelly-roll pan.

Ingredients you will need

Bell Pepper

Eggplant

Jelly

Onion

Roll

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Drizzle vegetables with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Ingredients you will need

Salt And Pepper

Vegetable

Cooking Oil

Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves).

Ingredients you will need

Clove

Garlic

Cut off pointed end of garlic head 1/4 inch from top. Wrap garlic in foil, and place on pan.

Ingredients you will need

Garlic

Wrap

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Aluminum Foil

Frying Pan

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. (Do not stir vegetables.)

Ingredients you will need

Vegetable

Equipment you will use

Oven

Stir tomato into vegetables, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Vegetable

Tomato

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Oven

Frying Pan

Unwrap garlic. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract pulp into a food processor. Discard skins.

Ingredients you will need

Extract

Clove

Garlic

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Food Processor

Add roasted vegetables, lemon rind, and next 3 ingredients to garlic pulp; pulse 12 times or until chunky, scraping sides of bowl once. Set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Lemon Peel

Vegetable

Garlic

Equipment you will use

Bowl

While vegetables bake, heat a cast-iron grill pan over high heat 4 minutes. While pan heats, pat polenta slices dry with paper towels; coat both sides with cooking spray. Coat pan with cooking spray.

Ingredients you will need

Cooking Spray

Vegetable

Polenta

Equipment you will use

Paper Towels

Grill Pan

Oven

Frying Pan

Add polenta slices, in batches, to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until thoroughly heated and scored with grill marks.

Ingredients you will need

Polenta

Equipment you will use

Grill

Frying Pan

Remove from pan; keep warm.

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons salsa over each polenta cake, reserving remaining salsa for another use.

Ingredients you will need

Polenta

Salsa

Serve warm.

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

1teaspoons

black pepper 0teaspoons

dark sesame oil 1liters

(1-inch) cubed peeled eggplant (about 1 medium)118milliliters

coarsely chopped fresh basil 1

whole garlic head 2Tbsps

fresh lemon juice 2teaspoons

grated lemon rind 1Tbsp

olive oil 355milliliters

(1-inch) pieces onion (about 1 medium)482grams

refrigerated polenta, cut into 1/2-inch slices 473milliliters

(1-inch) cubed red bell pepper (about 1 medium)1teaspoons

salt 473milliliters

(1-inch) pieces seeded tomato (about 2 medium)

Recommended wine: Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sparkling Rose

Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sparkling rosé are great choices for Mexican. Acidic white wines like riesling or low-tannin reds like pinot noir can work well with Mexican dishes. Sparkling rosé is a safe pairing too. One wine you could try is Francis Ford Coppolan Oregon Pinot Noir. It has 4.6 out of 5 stars and a bottle costs about 21 dollars.