Once Upon a Time in Verona

About 10 years ago, a couple of friends and I found ourselves in Verona. It wasn't well planned (okay, it wasn't planned at all), but when disaster struck, we treated ourselves to a delicious meal. Ten years later, all I remember about the meal was that it was the first time I ever had polenta - and it was absolutely delicious!!! Then a few weeks ago, I took a cooking class and we made polenta which inspired tonight's dinner...

Polenta with Zucchini, Onion & Tomatoes
Ingredients:
EVOO
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup diced canned tomatoes (try not to get much juice)
kosher salt & ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 cups coarse or medium cornmeal
grated Parmesan

--> In a medium saucepan, bring the water and ~1 tsp salt to a boil. Add the cornmeal slowly, whisking constantly. Also whisk in a few drizzles of EVOO (~2-3tbsp). Reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently with a spoon until the polenta is thick, it takes ~20 minutes. Be careful with this, if the heat is too high, the polenta will pop and you do not want it to hit your skin. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese while the polenta is still in the pot and hot.

--> While the polenta is cooking, heat up a large stirfry pan over medium heat and drizzle with EVOO. When hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Then add the zucchini, stir and continue to cook until the zucchini starts to brown. Add the tomatoes (fresh & canned) and then some salt and pepper. Simmer until thick, takes about 10 minutes.

--> When both the vegetables and polenta are done, spoon the polenta onto a plate and top with the veggie mixture and serve. YUM.