Marco Polenta

Description

Start with the italian cornmeal classic, polenta, and add the exotic new
flavors of marco polo's journey to the east: chickpeas from anatolia,
spinach from persia, cardamon from india and cinnamon from china. But don't
worry, this recipe doesn't take years to complete! Prepared polenta and
canned chickpeas make it easy (and nutritious).

Ingredients

• Chickpeas
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Garlic Cloves
• Frozen Spinach
• Peanut Oil
• Cardamom Pods
• Onions
• Ginger
• Cinnamon
• Coriander
• Prepared Polenta

Instructions

1. In a boiler, simmer chickpeas, including liquid, with red pepper flakes and garlic for about 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile, drain spinach, reserving the liquid
3. In a large skillet, heat oil
4. Add cardamon and cook for about a minute
5. Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute until the onions are translucent
6. Add spinach, then cinammon and coriander
7. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about ten minutes, adding reserved spinach liquid as needed to keep the mixture moist
8. Meanwhile, slice and grill polenta, using a dry skillet or stovetop grill
9. Drain chickpeas and add to the spinach mixture
10. Prepare for serving by placing two slices of polenta on each plate
11. Use a slotted spoon to drain the spinach and chickpea mixture, and top each slice of polenta
12. (ingredient
13. One cup dried chickpeas can be substituted for canned, by soaking overnight and then cooking until tender
14. One pound fresh spinach, wash and deveined, can be substituted for frozen
15. Dried ground cardamon and ginger can be substituted for fresh
16. )