Polenta Souffle Recipe from Chef Jonathan Power of The Populist

Recently the hubby and I had a date night out at The Populist, a small farm-to-table restaurant at 31st and Larimer in Denver. The food and the atmosphere was excellent as well as the awesome staff. I know most of you aren’t from Denver but service is an issue in many of the restaurants here, so when it’s great, I like to shout it to the world.

We did the Chef’s Seven Course Tasting Menu for Two. $75 for 2, great pricing for fine dining, good environment and nice staff.  Not to mention the Chef, Jonathan Power keeps the menu exciting by switching it up often AND was nice enough to give me his Polenta Souffle recipe to share with you guys. It’s creamy, buttery and reminds me more of mashed potatoes than polenta and it was oh, so good with medium rare steak. I have to say one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Other favorites were the tuna dish we started with, a wonderful slightly spicy, sweet pasta dish and finally the dessert. YUM! I’m looking forward to going back soon, so if anyone wants to join us, please let me know. The menu changes seasonally and the tasting menu sometimes features dishes not on the regular menu like the tuna dish we had, which by the way was really go tuna. It’s hard to get fresh seafood in Denver and I miss it, so it was real a treat.

I know I’m a little late in the game for getting the recipe to you for Thanksgiving, but if you can or of course, want to, consider substituting this Polenta Souffle for your mashed potatoes this year. It’s really no harder to make than mashed potatoes and will pair perfectly with any holiday dishes and the creamy goodness is so worth the effort. Don’t let the time to make scare you, it’s just about waiting for the polenta to cook, cool and then bake in the oven. Actually only about 15 minutes of real work. I also already scaled the recipe down to a family serving size from the restaurant size given to me, so this will make an 8″ x 8″ pan of souffle.

If you love it, drop me a line or stop of The Populist Facebook page and let the Chef know how much you liked it.

Polenta Souffle

heidi medina

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Total Time 2 minutes mins

Servings 10 -12

Notes

1/2 cup polenta

1 1/2 cups milk (whole, skim, almond all seemed to work fine)

1 1/2 cups veggie stock

3/4 cup Parmesan, grated

3 eggs, separated

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring veggie stock, milk and butter to boil in a medium-size pot. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk polenta into boiling water and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 45 minutes or until polenta has absorbed all the liquid.

Remove the pan from the stove and quickly beat in the egg yolks and the cheese. Set the mix aside to cool, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8" x 8" casserole dish by greasing sides and lining the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat the egg yolks to stiff peaks and fold into the lukewarm polenta mix.

Pour the mix into the prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes or until polenta is set.

Serve warm.

More fun with polenta:

Sausage and Fennel Ragout with Creamy Polenta from Platings and Pairings

Polenta Pancakes with Cranberry Apple Compote from Port and Fin

Peppercorn and Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Ricotta Herb Polenta from Mommyhood’s Diary

Chickpea and Polenta Homemade Crackers from Fuss Free Cooking

Ricotta and Polenta Almond Cake from Kate at the Kitchen Door