During the fall, polenta is one of my comfort meals of choice. It's the perfect base for a myriad of flavors and toppings. Sometimes I go vegan, sometimes I go heavy on the cheese. This particular carrot polenta features the carrot puree I just featured as a component. Roasted carrots and garlic pureed together form one of the levels of creaminess (so much so that you could ideally leave this vegan).

Roasted Carrot Polenta with Sage and Walnuts

Print Recipe

A creamy and delicious carrot polenta made with bulk-bin polenta and roasted carrots/garlic that have been pureed.

Author: Erin Alderson
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Polenta:

2 cups water
½ cup dry polenta
¼ teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
[url]¾ cup carrot puree∞https://naturallyella.com/roasted-carrot-puree/[/url]

Toppings:

1 tablespoon ghee
4 sage leaves
¼ cup crushed, toasted walnuts
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Add water to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer then pour the polenta, whisking constantly, until combined. Whisk in the salt, cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes (see note). If the polenta has thickened too much, add a bit more liquid and reduce the heat to the lowest setting (or burner).
Once the polenta has thickened and the taste has mellowed, remove from heat and add in the heavy cream ad carrot puree. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
In a small skillet, heat to medium and add the ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add the sage leaves and let fry until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove and place on a dry towel.
Divide the polenta into two bowls and top with the toasted walnuts, fried sage, and a drizzle of olive oil if desired.

Notes

Tips & Tricks: This polenta is perfect as a base for other roasted vegetables, legumes, and fried eggs.

For the polenta, I cook it over the lowest setting possible. Cooking polenta for a longer time makes for a better, richer flavor.

Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: polenta, walnuts, sage

Nutrition: see the information.

Nutrition

Calories: 326
Sugar: 3.6
Sodium: 520
Fat: 18
Saturated Fat: 9.6
Carbohydrates: 37.9
Fiber: 3.9
Protein: 4.4
Cholesterol: 37.9

carrot polenta

variations

There's a few different directions you can take with this carrot polenta. It's fairly simple because with the carrot components, it's a fairly hands-off meal. However, you can switch the flavorings and toppings to make it a completely different meal every time.

Vegan: Leave out the heavy cream or make a walnut-cream sauce that you could use in place of the dairy. Use olive oil in place of the ghee.

Flavor: Mix in harissa or romesco (two of my favorites) or try different herbs/spices.

Toppings: This polenta works really well with garlicky greens or spiced chickpeas.

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