The polenta bites with stewed beans are an excellent main course that is easy and delicious even as a finger food. You can prepare it in advance and finish just in time to serve this tasty winter dish at a dinner with friends or family and make a great impression.
I always have a container in the fridge with stewed beans or beans cooked in tomato sauce ready for situations like this. You can also prepare the polenta the day before and let it solidify and cool well in a baking dish, and then toast it on a grill before serving the polenta bites with beans.
Below I leave you more delicious recipes with polenta to try, and then let’s get straight under the photo to discover how to prepare these polenta bites with stewed beans!!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients for polenta bites with stewed beans
- 1 3/4 cups coarse cornmeal
- 3 cups water
- 10.5 oz dried cannellini beans (or borlotti beans)
- 10.5 oz canned peeled tomatoes (or tomato passata)
- Half onion
- to taste salt
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sprig rosemary
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Cookie Cutter round with a 2-inch diameter
- 1 Baking Tray
Preparation of polenta bites with stewed beans
To prepare the polenta bites with stewed beans, start with the beans by soaking them overnight in plenty of cold water.
The next morning, drain them, rinse them, and cook them in a pot full of water with the bay leaves for at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, as the beans cook, prepare the sauce by finely chopping the onion and cooking it in a pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for 4 or 5 minutes until it becomes transparent.
Add the peeled tomatoes and crush them with the back of a spoon, and let them cook for at least 20 minutes.
Once the beans are cooked, you can drain them and add them to the tomato sauce, season everything with chopped rosemary, and let it all cook for another 30 minutes.
Now take care of the polenta by bringing the slightly salted water to a boil, and as soon as it starts to boil, pour in the cornmeal in a thin stream while stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps.
Let the polenta cook, stirring occasionally for the time indicated on the package. Once cooked, pour it onto a shallow baking tray and spread it out evenly, allowing it to cool.
Now that you have everything ready, you can cut the polenta into bites with a round or square pastry cutter or even a glass and toast them on a cast iron grill just until heated.
Top each polenta bite with a spoonful of beans and tomato sauce, adjust the salt and..
ENJOY YOUR MEAL
Annatorte recommends
You can also make the polenta using instant polenta if you’re used to it, or you can prepare it the day before and keep it in the fridge.
You can use canned beans if you want to speed up everything, or prepare them the day before and reheat them before composing the dish.
Other recipes
If you want to see other types of recipes, you can return to HOME.
