I love quick and easy meals, especially during the weekdays. I also love to create a good meal out of what I have in the pantry or refrigerator. I hate it when things go to waste. So this meal was inspired by the need to use up my vegetables before it was too late.
I chopped up eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, Roma tomatoes, and red onions. I threw them all in a Pyrex dish and tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. I roasted them in the oven until they were nice and tender…and full of flavor! If you think you hate eating veggies, try them roasted, they are SO good!
I am usually fine with a meal of just veggies, but I was craving some polenta. So I made a pan of creamy polenta to go with. It was the perfect side to my veggies. I topped the meal off with some fresh Parmesan cheese and voila, a meal in no time.
If you haven’t tried polenta, I am so sorry. I love the stuff. You can enjoy it creamy or you can let it set up and then cut it into little cakes. I like it both ways. I usually make extra so I can have polenta cakes the next day. It is a great grain that goes well with so many dishes. Give it a try!
Roasted Vegetables with Creamy Polenta
(Printable Recipe)
- 1 eggplant
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- ½ red onion
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning
1. Chop up all of the vegetables. Make sure they are about the same size.
2. Place the chopped veggies in a Pyrex dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
3. Mix the veggies until they are well coated.
4. Roast them in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. Stir them a few times while they are cooking.
For the Polenta:
- 1 ¾ cups yellow cornmeal
- 6 cups water
- 2 tsp. salt
- Butter/Parmesan cheese (if you wish)
1. Bring the water to boil. Add the salt. Whisk in the polenta.
2. Turn heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring often.
3. It will take about 20 minutes to thicken.
4. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese, if using. I like to keep it healthy so I usually don’t put in the butter, sometimes a little Smart Balance. I do sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.
5. Serve with vegetables.
I need to eat more veggies after all those cookies I ate.
And I’m with you, I love polenta, there is so much you can do with it. I love all the things Giada does with it.
Maria this sounds like a snowy day meal all the way! I love what you do to veggies! Always good!
Yum! I have totally had polenta on the brain lately. This looks great!
i am so going to try this recipe for roasted veggies when i make polenta next!
ahh i love polenta..something so comforting about it! YUM!
I love polenta! It sounds great with these roasted veggies!
Sounds so good to me! I love this kind of meal! What does the other pea think of a meat-less meal?
Polenta is a dish that I still need to try, this looks wonderful!
I love vedggies. This is a must do!
Thanks, DCRose
Your roasted veggies look fantastic, I first started making them a few months ago and my family loves them!
Roasted veggies are my favorite!!!! This looks wonderful.
I love my veggies roasted best too. I use to steam them but then I wouldn’t eat them. Roast them and I cant get enough. I love polenta also. Mix in some cheese and I can just gobble it up! 🙂
We had our first all veggie day this week! I’ll need to keep this in mind for our next one; I haven’t had polenta in awhile, I love that stuff :).
Roasted veggies, rock. Even the five year old agrees!
I am so into roasted veggies at the mo, and this sounds ab fab. Like you I hate wasting food, and roasted veggies are a great way to use up anything that’s been festering in the fridge too long. 🙂
This looks delicious! Roasted veggies are some of my favs!! Especially when you add polenta to the picture. Everything goes better with polenta, right?! This is totally going to be one of my weeknight meals!
I LOVE roasted veggies, especially with a sprinkling of herbs! I’m not too keen on polenta but your roasted veggies look delish.
Maria
x
That looks delicious! I love roasted veggies!
We make this often. Isn’t it the ultimate comfort food? 🙂
you really can’t go wrong with roasting a variety of veggies, in looks or flavor. and polenta is a wonderful bed for so many things to lie upon. 🙂
great job, maria!
Sounds super easy and delicious. I love a good creamy polenta!
First off thank you for all the really GREAT recipes….my husband and I decided to go vegetarian and the recipes are wonderful!
So last night I made the “Roasted Vegetables with Creamy Polenta ” the veggies we’re perfect and the polenta was creamy (pat myself on the back) but it tasted really bland. I added butter and parmesan cheese with a few dashes of kosher salt and cracked black pepper, I even tried a dash of fresh nutmeg but…..bland city. What am I doing wrong? This was the second time I’ve made polenta, the first time it was lumpy. HELP!
Polenta doesn’t have a lot of flavor. You should try the Baked Polenta recipe on our site. It’s my favorite!