Description
This savory pie is not strictly a pizza, because the chewy crusty dough is missing. However, it’s Italian to the core, featuring aromatic Pancetta, pungent Gorgonzola cheese, roasted pepper strips and pine nuts
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus a bit more for sauteing and drizzling the baking sheet
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup yellow corn meal, coarse grind
- 3–4 oz pancetta, diced
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 2–3 cloves of garlic, slivered
- 3 oz (or more if you are a fan) crumbled blue cheese such as gorgonzola, can be substituted with goat cheese or fresh baby mozzarella
- 1/2 lbs baby spinach
- 1 bright colored sweet bell pepper, cut in half, seeded and sliced not too thin
- a handful of pignoli (pine nuts)
Instructions
- Make polenta first. In a saucepan, bring water, milk, 1/4 olive oil and salt to a boil. Reduce heat immediately, and pour in the corn. Stirring very frequently, simmer corn for about 15 minutes, until very thick.
- Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment, and drizzle a bit of olive oil on it. Spread polenta on the sheet evenly, to about 1/2? thickness, and shape into a circle, just like a pizza crust. Let cool until nicely set.
- Heat the oven to 425F. Sprinkle polenta crust with freshly ground pepper, and bake for 30 minutes, until nicely browned around the edges. Keep the oven on.
- While crust is baking, prepare the toppings. In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Saute pancetta, shallots and garlic for about 7-8 minutes, until nicely golden and very fragrant. Don’t overcook.
- Remove the pancetta topping into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat a bit more oil in the same skillet and saute baby spinach until wilted and dark green, for about 3 minutes or so. Again, remove the spinach and set aside.
- Add pepper slices and saute for a couple of minutes until they are nicely wilted, for about 3-4 minutes.
- Layer your toppings atop polenta crust, starting with cheese crumbs, followed by pancetta mix, spinach, peppers, and finally pine nuts. Arrange everything in a pretty way. Drizzle just a few drops more of olive oil, and put back in the oven for 4-5 minutes.
- Slice like a pizza or cut into 3 inch squares. Serve immediately.
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 339
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 485
- Fat: 25
- Carbohydrates: 18
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 11
- Cholesterol: 30