Even though my farm cooking days are over, I still have a LOT of fun recipes and creations to share with you guys. Soon enough, they will be from the comfort of my brand new kitchen, but this particular one took place down on the farm. The fun thing about this recipe is that it is so customizable – you can pick your own toppings, and even make a gluten-free version (just get GF corn meal). It’s quick and easy to throw together, but feels like a decadent treat.
Make Your Own Polenta Pizza
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, gruyere – your choice!)
- pizza toppings of your choice!
Preparation: First things first, go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Next you need to make the polenta itself. Start with 1 cup of white or yellow corn meal.
Mix the cornmeal, salt, and pepper slowly into 2 1/4 cups boiling water in a sauce pot.
Whisk quickly and constantly, as polenta takes very little time to form. It should be sticky and kind of gluey – make sure to whisk enough to remove all the lumps.
Once the polenta is thick enough (pulling away from the sides of the pot), spoon it into a large coated spring form pan (about 10 inches). If you don’t have a spring form pan, you can probably also do this in a shallow pie pan. If you are using a smaller pan, use a little less cornmeal – otherwise your “crust” will be super thick!
Spread the polenta evenly around the base of the pan, trying to get it a little bit higher on the outside edges – you’re basically trying to make a Chicago deep dish pizza here, mmmmm.
Now that we have a “crust” – we need toppings. I made mine based on what was available in the fridge, so I went with sun dried tomatoes, arugula, and a mixture of gruyere and parmesan cheese.
Chopped the sun dried tomatoes into tiny bite sized pieces…
I mixed the arugula, tomatoes, a bit of olive oil, and half of my cheese mixture in a small bowl.
Feel free to take liberty and use whatever mixture of toppings and cheese (even soy cheeses!) that you prefer. Next, spread a tiny bit of olive oil on top of the polenta to help the crust crisp up, and then pile the toppings on. Before it goes into the oven, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top.
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until the cheese is nice and melted and starting to brown – about 40 minutes If you used white cornmeal, you should also see the polenta start to brown a bit too.
The result is thick and doughy, and absolutely wonderful. When I mentioned making this on twitter, I had someone ask if it was high in calories. One cup of corn meal clocks in at around 600 calories, and this much polenta easily makes 4 large pieces, 6 if you’re sharing. So for 4 pieces, the crust itself would be 150 calories per slice – as long as you top with light cheese and loads of veggies, you can probably figure about 200 calories per slice. Be
tter than most pizza!
I loved using arugula as a topping here – it got nice and crispy, but still held that wonderful peppery flavor.
Cut into pieces and serve on a plate! I think homemade pizza can be kind of intimidating sometimes (especially the crust), but I assure you that this recipe was easy and delicious.
Enjoy! :)
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This looks delicious! I will definitely be trying it at home. Thanks for all the great, creative recipes.
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We love polenta pizza here! I like doing breakfast pizza on polenta crust! So good! Yours looks delicious!
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Mmm, love polenta pizza! I made one before, and ironically I think it had the same/ nearly the same toppings as yours! So tasty. :)
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I LOVE polenta pizza, but i haven’t made it in months. I think I need to make it asap now! :)
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Sounds & looks awesome!
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I have never had polenta before, I always thought it was something you had to buy.. now that I know I can make it so easily at home I will be making both the polenta AND this pizza! Thank you <3
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I love polenta but never would have thought about polenta pizza. It looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
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I usually use Bob’s Red Mill pizza crust, but I definitely want to try this as an alternative. I’ve never eaten polenta in any other way than, well, polenta
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
This is JUST FOR YOU, Evan! :)
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I agree pizza dough is totally intimidating. I’m going to try this recipe very, very soon! Thanks :)
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i didn’t realize how easy polenta is! thanks for sharing! i think i’ll be making some sort of spinach, polenta pizza later!!!
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I love this idea, and I love that you compared it to Chicago deep dish. I must try it soon.
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This looks amazing! I’m wondering if it would be crisper if you made a smaller layer? I’d like to try it for a GF type crust, but my fiance only really likes thin crusts…what do you think? Worth a try or destined for failure?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
YES – in fact, if I make it again I would probably do a thinner layer, just because that is my preference too. That’s why I tried to emphasize using a BIG pan – if you use 8 inches it will be way too thick. I’d just reduce the polenta amount to about 3/4 cup. Let me know if you try!
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ohhh that looks lovely! i’ve never tried polenta, i really will one day.
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To Your Health Sprouted Flour Company is coming out with sprouted corn meal this month or next. So much better for you. I think they should send you a sample package of all their sprouted flours to try so that you can let your blog readers know if you like it!
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I’ve never had anything like this but perhaps it can be tried on one of our regular pizza fridays! It looks delicious!
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Looks amazing! And congrats on getting things set for your move to DC. I moved here a little over a year ago and I’m really loving the city. :-)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
So great to hear – we can’t wait to get there! :)
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Looks beautiful!
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That pizza looks delicious! I found a similar recipe a year ago and have never gotten around to making it. You’ve just inspired me to do so (and try out a new topping – arugula!)
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Yum! Thank you so much for your wonderful posts. I’m going to try this tonight!
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This looks delicious, Emily!
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I’ve never really played around with polenta but this idea is great! Also, what a great idea for a pizza topping!
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That looks amazing!!!! Any idea what I could use to make a gluten free and corn free version? :)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
ahh geez. now that’s tricky. I can tell you what NOT to use – grits. I tried it last night and we basically ate grit pizza pudding for dinner. :) I don’t feel like i know enough about what has corn (pretty much everything) to give you an educated answer. Maybe millet?
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I love gruyere cheese on pizza. I’ve made a similar recipe by Mollie Katzen for that’s more like a polenta pie. I’d love to try a pizza recipe! Thanks for the idea!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I love gruyere on pizza too – makes it feel gourmet or something, don’t you think?
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Chelsea @ OmTown Girl Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Gruyere definitely = gourmet! My favorite homemade pizza calls for gruyere cheese and carmelized onions. I will post it on my blog next time I make it – it’s heavenly. :)
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We love polenta here- even the kiddos! Will have to try this one:)
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Yummy! I keep forgetting about polenta pizza.
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Wow emily, that looks so good! I’d love to try this recipe…the boys have been enjoying me using different grains, so maybe I should try polenta.
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Thanks for sharing this recipe! I have never made polenta before, I guess it is time I tried.
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This looks great! I want to try it.
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I love anything made with cornmeal. I want to eat this now, which is per usual with your recipes. DC isn’t THAT far from Boston. Maybe we can plan to meet up some time!
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Oh my – I must give this a try asap! THANKYOU!
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This looks wonderful!!! Could you spread the polenta on a pizza pan, or does the whole thing need a dish with sides to hold it in? Thanks! :)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 7:01 am
No you probably could, as long as you leave room on the outside for expansion. It might be a little less “deep dish” but I think the texture would still be good.
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Wow! What a great idea!
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Polenta pizza!! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at all that your ideas constantly wow me.
I’ve only ever done homemade pizza with dough from the bread maker; I cannot WAIT to try this. Thanks, Emily! Any thoughts on that thinner crust Doc was talking about? Maybe just cook it less and hope it browns up?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 7:00 am
I would just use a little less polenta, perhaps 3/4 cup, and watch to make sure it doesn’t get TOO crispy when cooking. Make sure you use a big pan too – at least 10 inches for a thinner crust!
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Kristen @ Kristen, Sweetly Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 7:39 am
OK! Thanks, Emily. I’m going to convince my parents to try this on Sunday. :-)
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Yum!! I just made this for dinner and it was sooo easy and just delicious. Thanks for all the wonderful, healthy recipes.
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 7:02 am
I LOVE that you made this already!! Even better than you enjoyed it :)
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Yum! No yeast either. I could definitely handle this one, with some pizza sauce of course!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 7:00 am
Omg when I look at recipes and see any type of yeast, even instant, I immediately turn the page. So intimidating.
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Yummy.
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I’ve never had (or heard of) polenta pizza, but I’m willing to give it a try. Thank you for the idea!
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I’ve done this many times and it is SO good! I like to mix a little garlic and basil into the polenta. Also, I bake the crust first by itself and then add toppings. More like a traditional pizza crust that way to me. Then, you can make extra and freeze the crust by itself. Instant pizza for dinner!!!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 8:07 am
Yum, love the garlic/basil idea.
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This sounds really great. Just put it on my recipes to try list!
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[...] my bowl of oatmeal) L (pumpkin oatmeal topped with walnuts, cottage cheese) D (polenta pizza from Emily’s recipe | with caramelized onions, blue cheese, homemade red sauce, ricotta cheese, shredded zucchini & [...]
I know I’m late with this comment, Emily, but I just made polenta pizza, and it was a big hit around here. I used Mazzetta jarred Mediterranean veggies, sauteed eggplant, green olives, and Parmesan. Excellent!
[Reply]
Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:35 pm
First of all, I love late comments. :) And I am SO glad you liked the pizza! I think it’s really good too. Mmmmm now I want to make one with EGGPLANT!
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[...] I owe you my pizza recipe from Sunday night. It was all thanks to Emily‘s polenta pizza post. One of the topping ideas also came from [...]
[...] got the recipe ideas from Emily over at The Front Burner Blog and from Happy Herbivore. If you haven’t ever been to these blogs, you should go! I read [...]
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