March 11, 2007

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Recipe: Polenta and Black Bean Casserole

While some people may not like casseroles, I still think it's a great simple way to make an entire meal and not worry about timing the preparation of your main dish and sides. This particular recipe came originally from Bon Appetit, but came to me through my ex-boyfriend's mom. It is one of his favorite meals, so when I went to visit him in Germany, she loaded me up with ingredients so we could make it. We did have to find the cilantro and a few other things in Berlin, which can be difficult because of the language difference. For your own future reference, when in Germany and looking for cilantro, look for koriander... We had to go to a few different places before finally finding it, but it exists!

I used to not be a big fan of polenta, but after this meal and another that a friend made at a potluck, I have realized that I was simply not eating polenta in the right way. Depending on the stuff that goes in/with it, it is quite amazingly delicious.

Polenta and Black Bean Casserole

Serves 6 people. Cooking time: umm...an hour maybe? We were making a pie at the same time...

The ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 4-ounce cans diced green chilies, drained
  • 1/4 cup canned salsa verde
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 16-ounce purchased polenta roll, cut into 10 or so rounds
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, well-drained
  • 1 15-ounce can golden hominy (corn), well-drained
  • 3 cups coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 10 ounces) [this was not available in Berlin, so we used some other kind of cheese]

The algorithm:
Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Oil 11X7X2 inch glass baking dish. Mix 1/2 cup cilantro, chilies, salsa verde, garlic, and cumin in medium bowl. Arrange the polenta rounds in bottom of dish, spacing evenly. Drizzle 1/4 cup cream over. Top with half of beans, half of hominy, and half of chili mixture. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese. Repeat another layer of the cream, beans, hominy, chili mixture, and cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 475; uncover casserole and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro and serve.

Posted by Cara Bohon at March 11, 2007 6:15 AM | Comments (4) | EatFoo 1.0 Posts


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I'll forgo any casserole-related comments, but I'm interested in hearing about other ways you've done polenta. I like it in theory, and it has served as an excellent side dish for me in restaurants, but every time I've tried to make it, it has come out extremely boring. I've made an effort to add cheese, herbs, and make sure it's salty enough, but it's still always about ten times as bland as the plain ol' grits my mom used to make for breakfast. Any suggestions?

Posted by: Barzelay at March 12, 2007 4:13 AM


I've had the same problems as Barzelay. I enjoy polenta but the few times I have made it myself it has come out fairly lame and uneventful. I would love to hear any suggestions concerning it.

Posted by: Adam Rugg at March 12, 2007 3:58 PM


I am dying to try this. We're trying to eat less animal proteins in our house (long and boring story not involving morals, the environment, cutzy animals, or politics) and this is a perfect solution for dinner one night. Unfortunately you seem to have left the beans out of the ingredients list. How much black beans and in what form did you use?

Posted by: Gretchen (Suburban Farm) at March 12, 2007 5:07 PM


Wow - I can't believe I left off the black beans! I have edited the entry accordingly. I even had my ex-boyfriend read it after I posted, but I guess he was assuming I would have written the recipe part right!

And regarding other polenta recipes - that will take a little time, but I will make an effort to get some more up here.

Posted by: Cara Bohon at March 16, 2007 12:45 PM

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