The Spinach Polenta Trees are a scenic, tasty, and light appetizer to bring to the table for Christmas. You can prepare them either with tree-shaped molds or by cutting them out with cutters, maybe getting help from the little ones who will have fun. For the recipe, I made corn polenta with instant flour, to which I then added the spinach and blended everything to give it a beautiful green color. Then I filled them with fresh spreadable cheese and decorated with some pomegranate seeds.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Cuisine
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, Christmas
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 7 oz spinach (fresh)
- 1/2 cup cornmeal (for instant polenta)
- as needed spreadable cheese (like Philadelphia)
- as needed pomegranate
- as needed fine salt
- as needed black pepper
Tools
- Kitchen Scale
- Pan
- Lid
- Wooden Spoon
- Small Pot
- Measuring Jug
- Hand Whisk
- Food Processor
- Mold
- Spoon
- Teaspoon
- Refrigerator
Steps
To prepare the spinach polenta trees…
First, in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, wilt the fresh spinach, adding one or two tablespoons of water and covering them with a lid.
Cook them for about 5 minutes on high heat, then uncover the pan, and cook for another 5 minutes, letting the water formed during cooking evaporate. They should be well dried. Salt and pepper.
In a small pot, heat the water to cook the polenta. When it boils, pour the cornmeal for instant polenta in a stream, stirring with a hand whisk. Cook it for the minutes indicated on the package.
When the polenta is cooked, pour it still hot into the food processor, add the spinach and run the processor until the spinach is completely chopped and turns the polenta green.
Adjust the salt and pepper, pour the polenta back into the small pot, and cook it, stirring with the whisk for a few minutes to evaporate any remaining water.
Pour the still hot polenta into silicone tree molds using a spoon and leveling the surface well. If you don’t have tree-shaped molds, you can pour the hot polenta into a small baking tray, leveling it in the same way with a spoon or spatula, about 3/4 inch thick, then cutting out trees with cutters.
Now that you have poured the polenta into the molds, let it cool outside the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, then in the refrigerator for another 30.
When the polenta has solidified, gently remove the trees from the molds and spread fresh spreadable cheese on top with the help of a spoon or spatula.
Finally, decorate with a few pomegranate seeds and a sprinkle of pepper. Serve cold, taking them out a few minutes before from the refrigerator or at room temperature.
