Slow Roasted Tomato and Spinach Polenta Cakes

These Slow Roasted Tomato and Spinach Polenta Cakes are a great appetizer or first course. Cooked polenta made with Parmesan cheese, cream, slow roasted tomatoes and garlic with sautéed spinach. So good!

The other day a fellow male food blogger I follow, Mike over at The Iron You, made these roasted tomatoes. The pictures were what grabbed me. Isn’t that always the way? Anyways, I thought about it and figured I’d make my own, too, and use them in a recipe. I couldn’t just chop them and drop them in something without making them a little extra special. I mean they took a little bit of time to make, but the concentrated flavor they have is amazing.

So here they are in my Slow Roasted Tomato and Spinach Polenta Cakes.

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Polenta is one of my favorite comfort foods. The warm cornmeal accentuated with wonderful cheeses and butter is soothing and filling. So why not match that up with the roasted tomatoes and some fresh sautéed spinach and garlic. With a healthy addition of Parmesan cheese and cream I figured these would be rich, so a small portion was due. A little appetizer of sorts.

I figured to take it up a level I would allow these to firm up and cut them into rounds for presentation sake and anoint with a quick and delicious tomato sauce accented with a few more of the roasted tomatoes. These were simply amazing and a big hit. Let’s do this…

Preheat oven to 225°F. Rinse and slice each tomato lengthwise. My rosemary plants are going crazy so I never have a shortage of this beautiful herb.

Next, arrange the rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves on parchment lined baking sheet to make a nice bed for the Romas. Lay the sliced tomatoes on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

Slow roast for 4 hours, being sure not to burn tomatoes (rosemary and garlic will be dried out for sure, discard). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Chop 8 into small dice, set aside. Store remaining in jar with olive oil to cover tomatoes and seal.

Sauté washed spinach in olive oil until wilted. Drain and rough chop. Set aside. If you don’t have fresh spinach, feel free to use frozen, about 1 cups worth, chopped.

Bring salted water to a boil in large saucepan. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Add the butter, and stir until melted. Reduce heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the heavy cream and cheese, stirring to incorporate completely.

Chop 8 roasted tomato halves and add to the polenta with the chopped spinach. Stir to incorporate and pour into greased 8”x8” baking pan. Allow to cool, then refrigerate to firm up for an hour, or overnight.

With round biscuit cutter (or similar utensil) make 2-inch circle cut outs of polenta. Warm in microwave for 1 minute or heat in a small sauté pan for a minute.

Pour tomato sauce of choice on plate, (I quickly ran a 28 ounce can of San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes through my food mill. Then in a sauté pan with olive oil, cooked some chopped garlic, added the tomatoes and simmered for 10 minutes. Added some fresh chopped basil, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste and cooked for another 10 minutes) top with polenta cakes and more sauce over cakes. It took the same amount of time to make as it was for the polenta, so I was multitasking.

Garnish with basil and serve with more Parmesan cheese.

These creamy, lovely polenta cakes have the fresh spinach and roasted tomatoes enhancing each bite. The roasted tomatoes add that tangy tomato flavor you only get by slow roasting, which concentrates the flavors. Enjoy!

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5 from 4 votes

Slow Roasted Tomato and Spinach Polenta Cakes

Slow Roasted Tomato and Spinach Polenta Cakes - Polenta made with Parmesan cheese, cream, slow roasted tomatoes and garlic with sautéed spinach. Roasted Tomatoes adapted from Mike over at The Iron You.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time4 hrs 15 mins

Total Time4 hrs 25 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Kevin

Ingredients

• Roasted Tomatoes
• 8-10 Roma tomatoes sliced lengthwise
• 20 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 20 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked black pepper
• Polenta
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup polenta
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• cracked black pepper
• 8 roasted tomato halves chopped
• 1 lb fresh spinach
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• tomato sauce of choice
• basil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 225°F. Rinse and slice each tomato lengthwise.
• Arrange rosemary and garlic cloves on parchment lined baking sheet. Lay the sliced tomatoes on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 4 hours, being sure not to burn tomatoes (rosemary and garlic will be). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Chop 8 into small dice, set aside. Store remaining in jar with olive oil to cover tomatoes and seal.
• Sauté washed spinach in olive oil until wilted. Drain and rough chop. Set aside.
• Bring salted water to a boil in large saucepan. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Add the butter, and stir until melted. Reduce heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the heavy cream and cheese, stirring to incorporate completely.
• Chop 8 roasted tomato halves and add to the polenta with the chopped spinach. Stir to incorporate and pour into greased 8”x8” baking pan. Allow to cool, then refrigerate to firm up for an hour, or overnight.
• With round biscuit cutter (or similar utensil) make 2-inch circle cut outs of polenta. Warm in microwave for 1 minute or heat in a small sauté pan for a minute. Pour tomato sauce of choice on plate, top with polenta cakes and more sauce over cakes. Garnish with basil and serve with more Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Roasted Tomato and Spinach Polenta Cakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 382 Calories from Fat 198

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 22g 34%

Saturated Fat 12g 60%

Cholesterol 58mg 19%

Sodium 417mg 17%

Potassium 920mg 26%

Total Carbohydrates 34g 11%

Dietary Fiber 4g 16%

Sugars 5g

Protein 13g 26%

Vitamin A 183.6%

Vitamin C 57%

Calcium 32.5%

Iron 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.