Basically, it was a layered Mexican casserole, with sliced polenta at the bottom, plus beans, corn, sauteed bell peppers and onions, spices, salsa, cheese, and olives. It was pretty tasty. The only annoying thing was that the original recipe listing said it could be used as a dip, so we were expecting something...casserole-y. Instead, there wasn't really anything to bind all the separate layers together (I guess the salsa and cheese weren't enough...), so it was just...a bunch of stuff all in the same pan. Anyway, the taste was pretty good—I'll give the spices a thumbs-up. I wonder how much better the recipe would be if the beans were lightly mashed, and all the supra-polenta layers got mixed together instead of just layered, so the mashed beans, salsa and cheese could actually hold everything together. Also, we didn't like the bell pepper in there, which was sad because fresh bell peppers are the best.
So here's how I would make this again: lightly mash the black beans, and mix them with the sauteed onions (no peppers), spices, corn, salsa, cheese, and olives. Maybe even add a small can of tomato sauce if more liquid is needed. Then, cube the polenta (instead of slicing it into slabs), and put it on top of the other ingredients, instead of under them, so it'll get golden and crispy. Ooh, now I am feeling all inspired to make this again. It's a fine idea for a recipe, it just needed a little trouble-shooting to make it good.
No comments:
Post a Comment