Every once in awhile you just crave something completely different from anything else you’ve eaten in a long, long time, right? Well, before I made this recipe I had gotten weirdly fixated on having cheesy grits. But if you’ve ever gone grocery shopping in England you’ll know that there’s basically zero chance of you ever finding any grits.
However, you can find polenta in spades. But what’s really the difference between polenta and grits? You might ask. Well there definitely is one, but it’s mainly a texture thing. The Kitchn has a great article about it, but to summarise: they are made from different classes of corn which is why grits can turn into mush and polenta can hold onto its course texture.
So I had settled onto making polenta instead, and then I realised that we had about 1 million onions to use up. (Thanks to Aldi selling a massive bag for only 50p) That’s why the caramelised onion came to play. And I’m so glad that it did, because polenta, even when mashed with something as tasty as sweet potatoes, can air on the side of blandness and they bring a hit of savouriness to the plate.
So here it is: Sweet Potato Polenta with Caramelised Onions and Fried Egg
Ingredients:
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of water
1 cup of dry polenta
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon of butter
4 eggs
3 teaspoons of coconut oil
chili flakes
1 onion, chopped
Instructions:
Start by adding your chopped sweet potatoes to a large pot and cook them until they are soft enough to mash. (Usually around 30 minutes.)
In the meantime, bring your water and vegetable broth to boil in another large pot. Add in the polenta, stir quickly, reduce the heat and cover. The polenta will cook for about 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so. (I always stir polenta with a whisk.)
Add 1 teaspoon of your coconut oil to a pan and heat it up. Add in your chopped onions and sauté until caramelised. This usually takes around 20 minutes and then set them aside.
Once your sweet potatoes are cooked, drain the water and mash them throughly with the knob of butter. The smoother, the better, ideally. When your polenta is creamy and ready to serve, mix it into the mashed sweet potato.
Lastly, fry up your eggs in the reserved coconut oil. Add the polenta into your serving bowls, and top it with chilli flakes and the caramelised onion. Finish each bowl with a fried egg and serve.
Notes:
I served this dish with a simple side green salad.
If you’re unsure of how to make awesome creamy polenta, The Kitchn has a great guide found here: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-creamy-stovetop-polenta-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-183740
Sometimes, you just have to have something a smidgeon more unusual for dinner, right?
