Polenta with Grilled Corn and Tomatoes
Cast-iron cookware isn’t just for simmering winter stews and braises—it's also great for preparing meals throughout the year. Here, two quintessential summer ingredients, fresh sweet corn and cherry tomatoes, are lightly charred on a stovetop grill pan and served over creamy polenta, which is cooked in a Dutch oven. Serve this comforting dish as a meatless main or pair with steak, lamb or chicken.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (32 fl. oz./1 l) water
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) polenta
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups (12 oz./375 g) cherry tomatoes
- 2 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Directions
In a Dutch oven over high heat, bring the water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt. Whisk in the polenta in a slow, steady stream and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan frequently, until the polenta is thick and is no longer gritty, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, preheat a stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush with the olive oil.
Place the cherry tomatoes and corn on the grill pan and season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange the thyme sprigs over the tomatoes as they grill. Cook, turning once, until the tomatoes and corn are lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Let cool slightly.
When the corn is just cool enough to handful, carefully holding each ear of corn by its pointed end and steadying the other end on a cutting board, cut down along the ear with a sharp knife to strip off the kernels, turning the ear with each cut. (Alternatively, remove the kernels with a corn stripper).
Top the polenta with the corn kernels and tomatoes and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen
