black bean and polenta casserole
On Sunday, the ladyfriend and I went to The Batesville Store in Batesville, Virginia, about 25 minutes south of Charlottesville. It’s a former country store turned diner/hang out, and we had gone there for Sunday lunch. Tess had the corn chowder — which was delicious — and I had the black bean casserole, which was one of the day’s specials.
It suffices to say that the casserole was fantastic, and as soon as we left the store, I wanted to recreate it. Unfortunately, I was too busy devouring it to pay attention to how it was made. And so, in lieu of a recreation, I decided to go with a variation on the theme: black beans, sauteed with garlic and vegetables, placed on top of a bed polenta, covered with monterey jack, and baked for a few minutes. I borrowed the idea from Epicurious, but jazzed it up a bit, since the original recipe was pretty terrible.
black bean and polenta casserole
- 3/4 cup dry polenta
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- teaspoon salt
- olive oil
- 1 15oz can black beans
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic (or 5, your choice really)
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- monterey jack cheese (or other cheese of your liking)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together water, milk, polenta and salt. Cover and bring to a simmer, stirring regularly for twenty minutes until thickened and creamy. Taste, and add a little more salt if needed. Pour polenta into a baking dish — I used a 6-cup, rectangular Pyrex dish, but any medium-sized casserole dish will do — and set aside.
In a skillet, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, and add diced onion and red pepper. Saute for five minutes, add garlic and jalapeno, and cooking for an additional three minutes, until garlic is flagrant and jalapeno is softened. Add the black beans, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, and cook for an additional minute. Once done, evenly pour the bean mixture onto the polenta, and cover with cheese to your heart’s content (I didn’t use much, but I’m not a huge cheese person).
Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes. Slice, plate (it might be a little messy), and eat. Serve with a side of chilled monkey brains.
(Source: epicurious.com)
