This is another wonderful one-pot vegetarian baked egg casserole that can be served any time of day. The title of the New York Times article about it was, “Polenta That You’ll Never Need to Stir: Baking a classic in a sea of eggs and cheese gives it complexity.” Irresistible. 🙂
This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Yotam Ottolenghi. I used my special grits from Charleston, South Carolina instead of polenta. I also increased the amount of garlic, reduced the red pepper flakes, and kept the corn kernels whole. I loved all of the brightness from the combination of fresh herbs. Delicious!
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- 9 ounces (255 g) frozen corn kernels (about 2 cups), defrosted
- 6 to 7 ounces (~200 g) baby spinach (about 10 lightly packed cups), roughly torn or sliced
- 1 cup (150 g) coarse cornmeal (grits or polenta)
- 1 packed cup (50 g) finely grated Parmesan (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)
- 5 scallions, thinly sliced, 2 T reserved for garnish
- 1/4 cup (20 g) roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus 1 T finely chopped and reserved for garnish
- 3 T roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 3 T roughly chopped fresh dill
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/4 cups (530 ml) whole milk
- 2 cups (475 ml) chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 3 T (40 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 5 ounces (140 g) Greek feta, roughly crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 8 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes, plus more for garnish
- warm naan, pita, or crusty bread, for serving
- Heat the oven to 375°F/200°C, preferably on convection.
- If desired, add the corn to a food processor and pulse once or twice, just until roughly chopped. (I opted to leave the kernels whole.)
- In a large bowl, combine the corn, spinach, cornmeal, Parmesan, scallions, 1/4 cup cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper; stir to combine.
- Transfer this mixture to a large, deep, oven-proof skillet, then add the milk, stock and butter, stirring gently to mix through. (I used a large enameled cast iron pan.)
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and give everything a good whisk.
- Return to the oven and bake until the cornmeal is cooked through and the mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes. Give the polenta another good whisk — it should be quite smooth and not completely set — then stir in half the feta.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425°F/220°C, preferably on convection.
- Use a dinner spoon to make 8 shallow wells in the polenta. Crack an egg into each well and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the remaining feta all over, and bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the reserved scallions and cilantro in a bowl with the oil. Spoon this mixture all over the polenta and eggs and sprinkle with the red-pepper flakes, if desired. Serve directly from the pan.
