Rachael Ray's Easy Pumpkin Polenta Recipe - Veganized!
This is one of my favorite recipes. It's easy, it's comforting, and it's delicious. I can throw it together in less than half an hour, and it has pumpkin in it! What more could you ask for?
I'm feeling a bit under the weather at the moment, and haven't the energy to blog a whole new recipe, so I thought I'd just share an old favorite with you.
This is a recipe by Racheal Ray that I've veganized (it's already vegetarian) and adapted to suit my own tastes. While the woman does love her sausage and cheese, quite a few of her recipes are pretty darn easy to veganize.
You can find the original recipe at this link.
Easy Pumpkin Polenta with Collards and Kidney Beans
adapted from Rachael Ray's original recipe - serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 -16oz package frozen collard greens (or spinach, kale, etc)
- 1- 15oz can kidney beans (be sure to read the label to make sure there's no high fructose corn syrup)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups water
- 1 vegan bullion cube
- 1 cup quick-cooking polenta (or grits)
- 1- 14oz can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbs vegan butter (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, mix the water and bullion cube, and pumpkin puree, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Meanwhile.... In a saute pan heat oil over medium high heat, and saute the onions until they begin to caramelize - about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic, greens, beans, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, cover and continue cooking until everything is heated through.
Once your pumpkin mixture has come to a boil, add the polenta and begin stirring! This part goes quite fast, and there's great potential for pumpkin splatters if you don't stir fast enough, so keep the polenta moving. Continue stirring for about 3-5 minutes, until all of the moisture has been absorbed and the polenta is thick and creamy. Turn the heat off, add the vegan butter (if desired), dried thyme, salt and pepper.
Spoon polenta into bowls and top with a generous serving of greens and beans.
