Questions for Maria and Judy on Ottolenghi's Eggplant Polenta

C

colleenmomof2

Well-known member
I have frozen lightly cooked corn that I cut from the cob over the past 3 weekends. I should have held out 6 ears but only read eggplant prep on recipe smileys/frown.gif My questions: At 12 minutes simmer for fresh in the recipe, I'm trying to figure out how much longer to cook mine. Any advice? Did you taste the kernels before processing? Do you think that the 12 minutes is an absolute? Should I just start with 6 new ears - I can pop out to store easily to get. Will the processing take care of any undercooked corn? Thanks for your help smileys/smile.gif Colleenhttps://finerkitchens.com/swap/forum1/268415_Light_and_delicate_flavor_but_yummy_rec_Yotam_Ottolenghi's_Sweet_Corn_Po

 
Depending on how much corn you have you can totally wing it

I find that the six ears of corn divide up perfectly to make four servings topped with the eggplant mixture. The 12 minutes doesn’t result in mushy corn, in fact it kind of just seems like warmed up whole kernel canned corn to me. probably softer than that, but not by much. I run the Corn for a good amount of time in the food processor and I think that would fix any issues. I probably go somewhere between 1 to 2 whole minutes letting the food processor run while I’m doing other stuff. I’ve never yet had to add liquid back in as he talks about in the recipe. I’ve made it like three or four times now. Hope this helps.

 
I agree with Maria.

It just needs to cook long enough so that the kernels will break down when they are blended/processed.

 
This was very tasty except

it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to make. Maybe it was just one of those days where time expands before you smileys/frown.gif For my part, I read the ingredients but not the instructions before I chose this dish, assuming limited ingredients, quick prep, and on the table. I started late and was pretty exhausted already so others success with the recipe may actually be possible for you smileys/wink.gif We loved the polenta! I did end up at a 2nd store for corn on the cob when I wasn't satisfied with the peeled cobs I bought at Aldi's. If you make it, read well before you start and have all ingredients prepared ahead and all equipment at hand to make the straining and processing steps easier. I messed up by leaving bowls, utensils and counters in my wake that should have been immediately washed (or at least put to soak) from the corn glue that is polenta. I heeded the tip that refers to the bubbling polenta spray but still ended up with a multitude of little glue splashes on the stove and area around with the frequent stirring required. The eggplant sauce, also wonderful, required 2 pans for me to fry so I ended up doing in 2 batches. Aside from taking close to 45 minutes to make it through the 15 minutes of cook recommended, this filled the house with smoke and covered the stove with oil splatters. I struggled with keeping the eggplant stirred, and it browned perfectly. However, the skin was inedible when served. We eagerly ate each bite and spit out the eggplant skin. And we will do the same for the remaining 2 helpings tonight, it's that good smileys/wink.gif The eggplant may have been all my fault because I used beautiful Chinese eggplants from the Farmers Market - every piece had skin attached. Also, I only used a portion of the 2/3 cup of oil specified in the recipe. Maybe braising the eggplant pieces in an oil bath would have prevented the tough, rubbery skin from occurring. Before starting, I did go back to the net to look for (and find) skin on because the recipe wasn't clear and I usually peel. Fortunately, I began the polenta and sauce at the same time instead of completing the sauce first before heading onto the polenta. Everything was finished at the same time and we enjoyed the bursts of feta Maria spoke of. I got up early this morning and everything is once again clean and back in place smileys/smile.gif Colleen

 
I had a bit of the same problems you did the first time I made it, here

It may be because you used a different type of egg plant, but because I had a bit of the same issues of tough skin I cooked it at a little bit lower temperature the next time I made it and that solved it. I used the full amount of oil, but didn’t have any of the splatter issues you’re talking about. I used my 12 inch every day pan. Measured the oil in a Pyrex measuring cup, cooked the diced eggplant in the pan, used a the slotted spoon to move the egg plant to a bowl, poured off the extra oil back into the Pyrex, put everything back into the pan and finished. I found you can do this much earlier in the day or ahead of time at some point and reheat it. This cuts down to only doing the polenta at the last minute but you really don’t even have to do that at the last minute as this dish reheats beautifully, though I reheat each part separately.

The most challenging part of this recipe to me is getting the corn off the cob, but the fresh polenta is so worth it.

In the end my dirty dishes are as follows:

For eggplant: Pyrex measuring cup for oil, 12 inch pan, slotted spoon, Bowl for egg plant which could be a serving bowl later if you want one.

For corn: large stove top pan, bigger Pyrex measuring cup to drain liquid, food processor, slotted spoon used from above. (I may forgo saving the drained corn liquid as I haven’t once needed any.)

Prep cutting board/knife/measuring spoon/small spatula for tomato paste, And since I use a larger can of diced tomatoes measured those in a pyrex cup.

And yes the polenta turns to glue, so I rinse right away as I go.

Glad you liked it! I’ve made it several times now as a make ahead dinner and warmed each separately in the microwave resulting in dinner in less than five minutes. I love that!

 
smileys/wink.gif Having it the second day erased ALL of my crabby prep memories - mmmmmm

Yesssssss! I will make this again. Thank-you Maria! I will try your suggestions of using all of the oil at a lower temperature. I don't believe that using less caused the eggplant to absorb less - it's a sponge - and less oil with higher heat surely upped the splatter and the smoking (over-stove-microwave ventilation systems aren't effective). I will use a "normal" eggplant next time with more inner flesh but I will also remove most of the peel. The Chinese eggplant was peel on every piece. And I will be better prepared, start earlier and wipe/rinse as I go - those "missteps" are on me. You and Judy are right, the polenta is incredible and the combination is sublime smileys/smile.gif Colleen

 
Maria, I did start with all of the corn liquid and wonder if it made the polenta better

because of the starch and sweetness. But, it does appear in the Food52 video that they kept liquid on the side. Also, there seems to be a ton of variability - not considering the corn quality - between serving polenta right from the processor "if you like the consistency after processing," the 10-15 minute "cook" w/ or w/o the liquid to "mashed potato consistency" and the original 12 minutes at a "low simmer". I'm looking forward to LOTS of experimentation smileys/wink.gif and I do plan to make use of my frozen 3 ear packages. Colleen

 
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