We're in full-on summer mode over here: the garden is brimming with veggies, the patio furniture is out, and we've been enjoying plenty of outdoor meals with family and friends. Dinners recently have been all about advanced prep and limited on-the-spot 'kitchen action' – because when everyone is chilling on our patio, the last place I want to be is cooking indoors.
At the same time, cooking for others comes with slightly added pressure now. The food blog is no secret amongst our friends and I definitely don’t want to let people down. The challenge is to constantly come up with new, impressive meals that can satisfy our not-so-vegetarian friends and family… all while making it as easy as possible for the cook (ahem, me). The last situation I want on my hands is four kitchen burners going and me sweating up a storm, while trying to play hostess at the same time. Nope, not gonna happen.
This summer succotash and grilled jalapeno polenta is exactly the type of recipe I want when entertaining. It features an abundance of summer veggies in a bright succotash made from corn, fava beans, red peppers and zucchini. And since many of our friends are skeptical of "sad vegan salads", the succotash is piled atop grilled jalapeno polenta. The polenta adds more heft to the meal, and the grilling it incorporates that barbecue magic we all crave in the summer months (without the meat or the stereotypical veggie burger). I also like to serve this dish with a quick and easy tomato sauce, because it adds a great touch of acid to brighten the whole plate up. Plus who ever said no to a great sauce?! It's like a grown up version of ketchup, but so much better.
Besides tasting delicious, this dish is extremely practical when it comes to entertaining. Although there are three components, almost everything can be prepared in advance. The polenta and tomato sauce can be made a day or two before – so that all you need to do on the day of is reheat them. The succotash is simple enough to cook on the spot. I recommend prepping and cutting all the veggies beforehand, so that it takes you less than 15 minutes to sauté everything before serving. Honestly, how much easier does it get?
There are two steps to making grilled polenta. First, you'll need to cook the polenta on the stovetop. And then, once cooked, you'll transfer the thickened polenta into a baking pan to cool. The second step is slicing up the polenta, giving it a quick brush of oil on both sides, and then throwing it on the grill for a quick char. If you don't feel like using the barbeque or a grill pan, you could use a cast iron skillet instead. Polenta keeps quite well in the fridge, up to 3-4 days. So, it's totally legit to make your polenta in advance and let it chill out in the fridge until you need it. Then just grill it up to serve.
And while this recipe makes for a great dish to serve a crowd, it's also a yummy dinner that keeps on giving throughout the week. There's been more than one occasion when we packed up the extras and gobbled them down for lunch the next day. So good!
📖 Recipe
Summer Succotash over Grilled Jalapeno Polenta
Ingredients
Grilled Jalapeno Polenta
- 3½ cups water
- 1 cup dry polenta
- 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, deseeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more for grilling)
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Fresh Tomato Puree
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 to 3 tablespoons water (as needed)
Summer Succotash
- 2½ lb (680g) fresh fava bean pods (or 1 cup frozen fava beans, see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
- 3 cups corn kernels (cut from fresh corn or frozen)
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Juice from ½ - 1 lime (to taste)
- 1 cup chopped grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
- Chopped cilantro (for garnish)
Instructions
Grilled Jalapeno Polenta
- Start cooking: Add water to a medium saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Stream the polenta into boiling water, whisking vigorously to prevent clumps. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes.
- Season and finish cooking: Whisk in jalapeno, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook, whisking frequently, until the polenta is soft and plump, about 5 to 10 minutes. If the polenta is still slightly gritty, keep cooking; if it needs loosening, add a splash more water.
- Cool: Line 1 (8-inch) square pan with parchment. Transfer polenta into a pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until cool and firm (at least 30 minutes, longer if possible).
- Grill: Remove polenta from pan. Cut into equal pieces. Brush both sides with olive oil. Grill (or cook in a cast iron skillet), on medium heat, until warmed through and golden brown on edges, about 3 minutes per side.
Fresh Tomato Puree
- Cook onion, garlic: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add tomato paste, cook for 1 minute. Add garlic and salt, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Simmer: Add chopped tomatoes. Stir to mix. Cover with a lid and simmer until tomatoes are soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Blend: Transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth, thinning with water as needed.
Summer Succotash
- If using fresh fava (skip this step if using frozen): Remove fava beans from their pods. Bring a pot of water to a boil, set aside a bowl of ice water. Boil the beans until slightly soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to ice water. Peel and discard the waxy coating on the beans.
- Sauté: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add corn, zucchini, and bell pepper. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Season and finish cooking: Reduce heat to medium. Add fava beans, garlic, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Cook until fava beans are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice.
- Serve: Spoon tomato puree over grilled polenta. Spoon succotash on top and sprinkle with grape tomatoes and cilantro.
Notes
- Fava beans: Once fresh fava beans are shelled, they'll still have a waxy coating around the bean. This coating gets peeled off after blanching. If you're using frozen and shelled fava beans, skip this step.
- Make ahead option: The polenta and tomato puree can be made the day before and refrigerated until needed. This will greatly speed up cooking on the day of: all you need to do is quickly grill the polenta, warm the puree, and make the succotash. Refrigerate components separately.
Mona says
We just devoured this for dinner and loved it. Can you tell me when you originally published this recipe?