Polenta With Leeks And Gorgonzola

Title: POLENTA WITH LEEKS AND GORGONZOLA

Categories: Corn, Vegetarian

Yield: 6 Servings

2 lg Fennel bulbs

3 lg Onions, yellow

5 tb Olive oil, fruity green

Salt & pepper to taste

2/3 c Dry red wine

2 lg Leeks; white only

1 ts Butter

6 c Vegetable broth; or more

1 c Yellow cornmeal

3 oz Gorgonzola blue cheese

Flat-leaf parsley; chopped

Trim the fennel bulbs, wash them well, cut them in half lengthwise,

and then slice them about 1/4-inch thick. Peel the onions and slice

them the same way.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large non-stick pan and cook

the fennel and onions in it slowly, stirring often, adding a little

salt and pepper to taste, until they are completey soft and golden

brown. Stir in the wine, and continue cooking until it almost all

simmers away, then set the pan aside.

Clean the leeks thoroughly, cut them in half lengthwise, then slice

them quite thinly crosswise. Heat the remaining olive oil and the

butter in a non-stick pan and saute the leeks in it, stirring them

often, until they are soft and beginning to color. Add a little

sprinkle of salt -- but not too much.

Heat 6 cups of broth in a medium-sized saucepan and whisk in the

polenta. Lower the heat and simmer the polenta, stirring with a

wooden spoon constantly, or at least very often, until it is thick

and smooth, about 30 minutes. Stir in the sauteed leeks; break the

Gorgonzola into chunks and stir it in. Keep stirring until the cheese

is all melted into the cornmeal. The polenta should be thick and smooth, but not stiff. If it is holding a shape as you stir it,

gradually mix in a bit more vegetable broth.

Meanwhile, warm up the carmelized fennel and onion mixture. This too

could be moistened with a bit of vegetable broth if needed.

Ladle the polenta into warm, shallow bowls or onto warm plates, and spoon some of the fennel and onion mixture around the polenta.

Scatter some fresh flat-leaf parsley across the top and serve at once

with a good red wine.

Source: "The New Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas

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