When it’s cold out, all you want is a nice comforting meal that will fill you up. This was definitely one of those meals. The base is a creamy polenta with a delicious tomato sauce on top. This is another recipe from Thug Kitchen 101 cookbook.

Starting with the polenta, since the recipe is in a vegan cookbook, it was made with broth, non-dairy milk and nutritional yeast. When making polenta, always be sure to constantly whisk when adding in the cornmeal to avoid a lumpy result. And once you have added in all the cornmeal, it needs to be stirred every couple of minutes or else it will start to stick to the bottom of the pot. It came out so creamy and rich and I liked the hint of cheesy flavour.

The puttanesca is a tomato-based sauce with garlic, capers and olives. There is also some oregano and chili flakes for more flavour. It was very easy to make because everything just has to heat up and reduce down slightly. The capers and olives give a nice salty punch, and the acidity from the sauce as a whole really helps to cut the richness of the polenta.

This was a really good dinner and I love the colour contrast between the yellow polenta and red sauce. I also garnished with extra chili flakes and some fresh basil. The timing of the meal worked out well too because the sauce comes together while the polenta is already cooking away.

If you like this polenta recipe, you should try the Shredded Apple Polenta, also from the Thug Kitchen 101 book.