← Gemüseeintopf mit Polenta (vegetable stew with polenta)

Gemüseeintopf mit Polenta (vegetable stew with polenta)

Units

Temperature

Servings

Ingredients

Stew

200 g carrot, peeled, diced
200 g zucchini, diced
200 g red bell pepper, diced
150 g onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
30 g olive oil
400 g chopped tomatoes
700 ml vegetable broth
2 g dried oregano
to taste fine salt
to taste freshly ground black pepper

Polenta

900 ml water
200 g coarse polenta
5 g fine salt
30 g butter
40 g grated hard cheese (optional)

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sweat the onion and garlic for 3 minutes, then add the carrot, zucchini and pepper and sweat a further 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, broth and oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook 25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a separate pot with the salt. Pour in the polenta in a steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
Reduce the heat to low and stir constantly, or very frequently, for about 30 minutes, until the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot and no longer tastes gritty. Stir in the butter and cheese if using.
Spoon the polenta into bowls and ladle the vegetable stew over the top.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers cooking the polenta; the stew is made conventionally in a separate pot on the stove, or in the same bowl beforehand if you prefer to do both in sequence.

Make the stew as in the hand method, in a separate pot, or in the Thermomix bowl first with the butterfly removed, using speed 1 for sautéing and reverse / speed 1 for the simmer, then tip out and keep warm.
Rinse the bowl. Insert the butterfly. Water and salt into the bowl. Heat 5 min / 100°C / speed 2.
With the machine running on speed 2, pour the polenta in through the lid opening in a steady stream. Cook 25 min / 100°C / speed 2.
Remove the butterfly, stir in the butter and cheese, and serve as in the hand method.

Notes

Do not walk away from the polenta on the stovetop. Left unstirred for even a couple of minutes, it catches on the bottom and scorches, which no amount of stirring afterward fixes.
Coarse polenta gives more texture than the quick-cook variety, and is worth the extra stirring time for this dish specifically.
The stew can be made well ahead and reheated; the polenta is best made fresh, since it stiffens considerably as it cools and does not reheat to the same texture.
Leftover polenta, poured into a dish and chilled, can be sliced and pan-fried the next day as a separate side.

Ingredient substitutions

Zucchini and pepper can be any vegetables that hold their shape in a simmer; mushrooms and green beans both work.
Grated hard cheese in the polenta is optional but adds richness; leave it out for a dairy-lighter version.
Chopped tomatoes can be tomato passata for a smoother stew base.