Grilled Polenta with Cherry Tomatoes
This is one of my favorite go-to dinners in the summer. I love to pick the cherry tomatoes and basil from our kitchen garden then cook it in a parchment pocket to preserve all the flavors and juices and serve with freshly grilled polenta. It goes great with a glass of chilled white wine!
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, (divided)
- 1 packaged cooked polenta log, (16 or 18 ounces cut into 1/2-inch rounds)
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes, (or 6 cups)
- 7 garlic cloves, (thinly sliced)
- 1 shallot, (finely chopped)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 sprigs basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Brush polenta rounds with olive oil and grill on the grill.
- Very coarsely chop (do not purée!) 1 pound (or 3 cups) of cherry tomatoes in a food processor.
- Cut remaining tomatoes in half (quarter if large) then combine in a bowl with 4 tablespoons olive oil and remaining ingredients, tossing to coat.
- Stack three sheets of parchment paper on a baking pan. Don't use foil because tomato acid will react with aluminum!
- Spoon tomato mixture onto one side of stacked parchment.
- Fold parchment layers over the mixture and crimp edges tightly to form a sealed packet.
- Place the baking sheet with the tomato packet on the upper rack and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Spoon tomato sauce over polenta and serve with Kale & Pine Nut Stir Fry on the side.