Spicy Eggs on Polenta
(from greenfood’s recipe box)
Source: Green Goddess
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 cup Polenta
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup grated Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese (use vegan cheese to keep it dairy-free)
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 2 cups spicy salsa
- 2 cups GF red pasta sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted green chiles- hot or mild, to taste
- A good dash of balsamic vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Red pepper chili flakes, to taste
- A good dash of cumin or chipotle powder, if desired
- Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, to taste
- 8 large free-range organic eggs
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
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In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring the broth to a high simmer and pour the cornmeal into the simmering broth in an even, steady stream, whisking as you go. Keep stirring. This take a while. Hand the whisking job over to a willing and able assistant as you prepare the eggs. [Promise them chocolate, if you have to.]
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Combine the salsa and red sauce, chiles and vinegar for the Diablo Sauce. Add in the garlic and spices. Pour into a deepish baking pan- I used a 10×13-inch pan. Place the pan in the oven for ten minutes to heat the sauce. In the meantime, give your assistant a break on whisking the polenta, or busy yourself with selecting appropriate Huevos Diablo music. Cesaria Evora works.
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When you are about half way through the polenta process (around the 10 to 15 minute mark) pull the pan from the oven and crack the eggs- one at a time, preferably- into the simmering sauce. Place the pan back into the hot oven.
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The Diablo sauce will poach the eggs. When cooking only four eggs, I will cook the eggs and sauce in a deep skillet (covered) on the stove, instead; I chose to bake them on this occasion because I was poaching 8 eggs at once.
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When the polenta has thickened and is pulling away from the sides of the pot a bit, add in the shredded cheese and season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pot from the heat.
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Note: If all goes well, the eggs and polenta will be done at the same time. My polenta took a little longer than I anticipated, so my poached eggs turned out a little more solid than I like. I should have pulled the pan from the oven and kept the eggs on the stove top until the polenta was ready.