Saffron Polenta with Fresh Tomatoes

I took a bath this morning and loved the light streaming in so much, that I got out of the tub, dried off and grabbed my camera. I am having a out-of-sorts day. Yesterday I took my homeopathic constitutional remedy. I am now enduring the lovely healing crisis that sometimes accompanies a remedy. A good sign mostly. When things are off kilter for me, I get into the bathtub.


Polenta is heavy. Sturdy and coarse, it is not meek. I like the earthy smell polenta has of corn stalks and the slight milky odor that reminds me of my grandparents dairy farm as a child. It is hearty the way oatmeal or buckwheat groats are. Not light and airy like jasmine rice or quinoa. My polenta is from my grain share. It has a flavor that is buttery and lively. It definitely is different than polenta that has been sitting in a bulk bin. But, mornings and evenings are becoming more defined with fall's flutters and polenta fits the energy of going more inward. Saffron's muskiness is a great addition to the herbal qualities of polenta and the sweet notes of tomatoes. I do add butter to my polenta. I would rather eat half a portion and have it filled to the brim with everything that is full of flavor and lusciousness than eat a big bowl of something that is not. I encourage you to do the same.

This dish will be on your table in 35 minutes. Slice some tomatoes out of your garden, get the micro-zester out of the drawer and put a hunk of pecorino on a plate. This is hearty. Only eat a little if you find yourself getting nervous....or you could just make this day like the one you have always wanted to live. In this moment, it is all here.

Saffron Polenta with Fresh Tomatoes
makes two large or three small portions

small pinch saffron threads
2 1/4 cups stock
2 tbls. pecorino romano cheese finely grated
1/2 cup polenta (don't bother with the fast cooking kind)
2 small tomatoes
1 tbls. olive oil
2 tbls. butter

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, add stock and polenta. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to med-low and add saffron and olive oil. Stir every couple of minutes and turn heat down lower if it starts to splatter while bubbling. Cook and stir for 30 minutes. Add butter and pecorino romano. Stir and taste for salt.
Cook for another 5 minutes or until the polenta tastes tender.
Spoon a small amount into a bowl and top with sliced fresh tomatoes and a little sprinkle of salt on the top of the tomatoes.