Sweet oven roasted tomatoes on top of creamy parmesan polenta are a delicious and easy to make bowl of comfort food!
It’s starting to feel a little more like fall here in Colorado. Our high temperatures have been in the 80’s which is just the way I like it, and the lows are in the upper 50’s which makes my morning runs a dream come true! Because we are still getting warmer weather during the day, my tomato plants have continued to produce bowls and bowls full of sweet, juicy tomatoes which makes me very happy!
It got to the point last week where I had way to many and I wanted to make sure I used them before they got too ripe. We were having a cooler day so I decided that it was acceptable to turn on the oven and roast a big batch of them. Roasting tomatoes is not only super simple, but it makes them so sweet they are almost like candy! I wanted to give my tomatoes a little bit of Italian flavor so I roasted them on a sheet pan along with a few cloves of smashed garlic. My house smelled just like an Italian restaurant and it even sent my husband up from his office in the basement asking what smelled so good!
While the tomatoes were roasting it left me with the perfect amount of time to make the creamy parmesan polenta. Polenta is something that I haven’t made in a long time, but after making this parmesan version that will surely change. I forgot how much I loved the thick, creamy, slightly granular taste of polenta! I used the quick cooking polenta so it cooked faster than both rice or pasta would have. To make the polenta creamy I cooked it in a combination of skim milk, low sodium chicken broth, and of course a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Once the tomatoes were soft and shriveled looking, I removed them from the oven and added them on top of the bowls of polenta. I spooned some of the sweet tomatoes juices that had leaked out onto the pan over the top of the tomatoes along with some fresh basil and a little more parmesan cheese. This was truly a bowl of comfort food and one that you can feel good about eating too! Even when my tomato plants stop producing I know I will be buying some at the store and making this recipe over and over this fall and winter.
Yields 4 servings
10 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (optional)
- 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup quick cooking polenta
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with foil.
- In a large bowl toss together the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper until the tomatoes are completely coated.
- Pour the tomatoes and garlic onto the foil lined baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer.
- Roast the tomatoes in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until they are soft and have shriveled slightly.
- Remove from the oven and gently toss with the chopped basil.
- In a medium sized saucepan combine the broth and milk and bring to a boil.
- Once the liquid is boiling add in the salt and polenta, then lower the heat to a simmer.
- Whisk the polenta constantly for approximately 5 or until it becomes thick and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the parmesan cheese and black pepper.
- Divide the polenta into 4 servings and top with the roasted tomatoes and more parmesan cheese.
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