4 whole medium squash (yellow and/or zucchini) (diced)
1 large eggplant (diced)
1 whole red bell pepper (diced)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (chopped)
1/4 cup fresh basil (chopped)
3 cups water
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (regular or light)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/4 cups cornmeal, fine ground
Categories
Side Dish
Cuisine
Mediterranean
Steps
For the ragout: Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions and 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook until browned, then stir in the smoked paprika, cumin, crushed red pepper, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper and garlic; cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar, scraping the pan to remove any brown bits. Add the chickpeas and 3/4 cup water to the pan along with diced tomatoes, squash, eggplant, bell pepper and sun-dried tomatoes, stir well to combine. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste if desired.
Just before serving, stir in the fresh chopped basil.
For the polenta: In a medium saucepan combine 3 cups water, coconut milk, 1 tbsp olive oil, turmeric and 1 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth, tender, and creamy, about 15-18 minutes.
Serve the ragout over the cooked warm polenta. Garnish with additional fresh basil if desired.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 445 kcal
Carbohydrates: 46 g
Protein: 10 g
Fat: 26 g
Saturated Fat: 15 g
Sodium: 861 mg
Sugar: 8 g
Reviews
Judith Kelly on 2025-09-27 (5 stars): Omg this is delicious. I made it as written, however, I halved the recipe as we arw only two. Hubby loved it. My only issue os that the recipe says 15 minutes prep time. Seriously? You have to be a ninja to prep in 15 minutes. I will make it again though, it delivers what it says. Flavourful filling and nutritious.
Linda on 2021-04-15 (5 stars): Delicious
Made it the second time last night for our meals today
Thank you for sharing
Talia on 2021-03-13 (5 stars): Made it now the second time. It was a bug success on both times. The dish is very rich and flavorful. The only thing I changed is making it with pumpkin instead of zucchini. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Mim on 2021-02-23 (5 stars): I've made it a few times now and it is absolutely delicious! I'm not an eggplant fan and my husband doesn't like mushrooms 😃🤣 but for some reason it sounded good so I made. Am I ever glad I did. We both love it eggplant and mushrooms and all! I think the spices are fantastic and really make the dish. I make the polenta with water and soymilk because I didn't want all the fat calories. Thank you. It's a delightfully delirious and nutritious meal.
Sara on 2018-12-30 (5 stars): Great recipe. Will nourish the body and soul of some of my friends that are not feeling well. Thank you!!
Bill on 2018-11-27 (5 stars): Changed it up a touch, converting polenta into arepas, and I added scallops... thanks for the inspiration! Too bad I can’t attach a pic!
Josie on 2018-10-30 (5 stars): I made this because I am always looking for new and different plant-based meals. And it looked beautiful. But, I had my doubts. I am here to say the dish is beautiful and it is also delicious. My husband raved about it! My only changes were to roast the vegetables because I had the time and wanted to remove some water from them and we sprinkled about a teaspoon of feta on the top. Which was not necessary! So, this is a delicious, different, vegan dinner. And makes a ton. Hank you!
Dave Mc on 2018-02-22 (4 stars): I made your dish last night -- part of my recent (4 month kick) to cook a plant-based meal every Wednesday (it's a start) and, always, give credit to where I found the recipe. I have never made polenta before and have only eaten it once. In your recipe, you call for "fine ground corn meal". I ended up buying corn meal that was labeled for polenta but was "coarse ground". I compared it to the box of corn meal that I think every household has which does not specify the ground size -- and it was clearly a finer grain than the one I had bought labeled for polenta. I think it turned out OK but it took about 45 mins to cook and wasn't as creamy as the one time I ate polenta at a restaurant.
Can you give more detail about the corn meal that you use for polenta?
Thanks very much for sharing the recipe -- it was quite good (and my wife loves that I am actually cooking & eating vegetables!).
Janae on 2018-01-04 (5 stars): Thank you for this great recipe! My son is almost 2 and he also every last drop, we just loved it!
Tom Delleman on 2017-11-11 (5 stars): Tori,
I have made this recipe twice now. First time I made it for my daughter, who immediately went home and made it for friends. This week I made it to eat while watching football! Who needs Chili , I am not a vegetarian or vegan, but I love this meal as it is so flavorful. You may want to have enough ingredients around to double the Polenta, as the ragout makes plenty.
ExpatinGermany on 2017-08-04 (5 stars): Just made this. Delicious! Even our meat-eating son loved it. I always make a recipe without substitutions the first time, and there's not much I would change except perhaps the spice amounts. We like a lot of flavor, so I will probably double everything next time.
By the way, even though I am 61, I never made polenta before, and that I now regret! It was so easy, and tastes yummy. Thank you for the recipe.
Lindsay Collette on 2017-07-19 (5 stars): OH. MAH. GAH.
This recipe is KILLER. Man-o-man is it good!
