When you think about Australia, many things come to your mind, like its famous places, food and many more. And if you are a foodie, then your food culture will attract you more. Australian food is very famous, like seafood, barbecues, desserts, meat pies and many more. But Australia is also very famous for its many creative and colourful dishes, and one of them is Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille. This dish is a very lovely mixture of creamy, crispy texture of polenta and colourful and flavourful vegetable stew known as Ratatouille
Historical Significance
There are two different things in the Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille dish: one is polenta, and the other is ratatouille. Polenta comes from Italy, and ratatouille comes from France. Australia always supports other food cultures a lot and tries to mould them in its own way. Australian chefs thought in a very creative way and combined both polenta and ratatouille dishes. The fusion of polenta and ratatouille makes us feel that Australia also supports global flavours very well. But today, the Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille dish has become famous in every corner of Australia, and everyone likes to eat it. You can see it in any restaurant in Australia.
Recipe
Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille. On hearing the name, it seems that this dish takes a lot of effort and time to prepare, and even if we need professional tools, there is nothing like that in its preparation. We can prepare it well with some basic ingredients, spices, and patience
Ingredients
For the polenta
- 1 cup cornmeal or polenta
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the ratatouille
- 1 small eggplant, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Fresh basil for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Preparation of Polenta
Step 1: Take a large pot, add vegetables and water and start boiling it. Slowly add corn slurry and whisk it properly to avoid lumps. Cook it for 30 – 40 minutes at medium flame until the polenta is thick and smooth
Step 2 : Add butter, cheese along with salt and pepper to the polenta
Step 3 : Spread the polenta paste into a baking tray about 1-inch thickness and let it cool completely. Once it is set then cut into squares or other shapes
Step 4 : Preheat a grill pan or barbecue. Apply olive oil to each piece of polenta and grill it for 3 to 4 minutes each side until they become crispy
Ratatouille
Step 1 : Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add onion and garlic and saute until they are soft
Step 2 : Add eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers to it and cook them for 7-8 minutes
Step 3 : Add tomatoes, thyme, and oregano and cook the mixture for about 20 minutes at low flame
Step 4 : Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh basil leaves
Time
The whole cooking program takes upto 1 hour.
More About Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille
You must have seen many famous foods of Australia but the Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille dish shows the creativity of Australia as to how Australian chefs have made such a delicious and colourful dish by fusion of two different dishes. If you wish to eat something healthy, colourful and tasty then do try the Grilled Polenta with Ratatouille.
