Baked Cheese Polenta with Swiss Chard

7 Reviews
ADD YOUR REVIEW
Becky Luigart-Stayner; Lydia DeGaris-Pursell; Food Kellie Gerber Kelley
Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
May 2001
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Parmesan and goat cheeses add a sharp flavor and creamy texture to the polenta. Serve with focaccia and cherry tomatoes tossed in a vinaigrette.

Ingredients

  • Chard:
  • 2 bunches Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • Cooking spray
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • Polenta:
  • 1 3/4 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
  • 3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 169
  • Caloriesfromfat 28%
  • Fat 5.3g
  • Satfat 2.9g
  • Monofat 1.2g
  • Polyfat 0.5g
  • Protein 6.4g
  • Carbohydrate 24.1g
  • Fiber 1.9g
  • Cholesterol 15mg
  • Iron 2.4mg
  • Sodium 647mg
  • Calcium 146mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°.

Step 2

To prepare chard, remove stems and center ribs. Discard stems and chop ribs; coarsely chop leaves. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add ribs and 2 tablespoons water; cover and cook 5 minutes. Add the leaves; cover and cook 5 minutes or until wilted.

Step 3

To prepare polenta, place 1 3/4 cups water, salt, and broth into a large saucepan. Gradually add the cornmeal, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and cook 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheeses, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon half the polenta into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Top with the chard mixture. Spoon sour cream over chard, spreading evenly. Quickly add remaining polenta, spreading evenly.

Step 4

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

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Ratings & Reviews

AKinAK's Review

AKinAK
May 09, 2014
I made some changes that improved this recipe, and I don't think it would have been good without them. The first is that I substituted kale for the swiss chard. So it turned out much firmer and chewier than I think chard would have been. I also seasoned the kale with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and vinegar. I can't believe that the recipe is written with the greens only being flavored with garlic. That would be bland! The other major change I made was using parmigiano-reggiano freshly grated, and I probably added an extra tablespoon so it added some nice salty flavor. I would say that the leftovers weren't good, the polenta gets super firm and chewy. Overall, the recipe was good, but it definitely took a while to prepare mostly because of the kale.

rstarrlemaitre's Review

NanaElaine
May 03, 2013
This was filling, but a little bland. A nice way to eat your leafy greens, but the chard needed tofu crumbles or meatless crumbles or something else to add a layer of flavor. I think I'd stir the cheese mixture into the chard, rather than into the polenta, where you couldn't really taste it. Also couldn't taste the sour cream, so a waste.

NanaElaine's Review

KKonrad
November 22, 2012
Made this last night and it was a hit. I forgot to put the sour cream on the chard so I just spread it over the polenta and sprinkled with a little more Parm. I used all chicken broth and added some dried chili flakes to the chard while it was sauteing. We're looking forward to having the leftovers with an egg on top for breakfast.

psal271's Review

JessicaStacey
August 28, 2010
This was a good way to prepare greens. I omitted the sour cream, and I cracked some eggs on top of the chard for extra protein. The eggs baked up nicely in the oven.

Belladonna714's Review

psal271
January 12, 2010
I didn't care for this recipe, found it to be a little flavorless.

KKonrad's Review

Belladonna714
January 09, 2010
Very tasty dish. I enjoy polenta but have not cooked it in years. I made 2 changes, I used chicken broth rather than vegetable broth (most commercial stuff is wretched), and I added some chopped up precooked spicy chicken sausage to the chard mixture because my partner has a long face when I serve meatless meals. The sausage added mroe flavor to already flavorful dish. I might make this again but will probably try other polenta based entrees first.

JessicaStacey's Review

rstarrlemaitre
September 08, 2009
This was not for me. I found the texture of the chard and polenta an odd combination, and felt that the overall taste was much too bitter. Not sure if I did something wrong to the greens, but they just didn't taste "right". The polenta on its own is delicious, but the dish as a whole was not what I expected, and neither my husband nor myself want to eat any more of it.