Roasted Veggies Italian Style + Grilled Polenta

One of our favorite ways to enjoy veggies -- roasted with olive oil & garlic, then topped with fresh basil and parsley

Roasted Veggies Italian Style + Grilled Polenta

Easy to prepare & Melt-in-your-mouth Yummy!

We just returned from a weekend away visiting family and were lucky enough to come home with baskets of fresh veggies from my mother in law’s amazing garden.  We have farm fresh eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, string beans, swiss chard and lots of herbs.

So naturally dinner revolved around some of them.  The details ? Baby eggplant, cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, chickpeas and baby bellas (not from her garden), all prepared simply with olive oil & garlic, topped with fresh basil and parsley, and paired with grilled polenta. Melt-in-your-mouth yummy!

If you haven’t tried polenta, it’s a must try!  It’s simply cornmeal cooked up with water and a bit of salt or other seasonings, and it’s a great alternative to bread, pasta or potatoes.  It can be eaten creamy or baked or grilled or fried the next day.  Today, I used an already made polenta from Ancient Harvest, and simply sliced into 1/2 slices and grilled.  Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and the perfect complement to juicy roasted veggies!

We always make a large quantity of roasted veggies. They are versatile and go great on toast, sandwiches, polenta, salads, pizza, pasta or served as a side with a protein of your choice (my family loves them served with steak or chicken).

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Recipe

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Roasted Veggies Italian Style + Grilled Polenta

Vegetables roasted with olive oil and garlic, then topped with fresh basil and parsley are among our favorite ways to enjoy veggies, and among the easiest ways to prepare them. Enjoy them with grilled polenta or as a side with grilled chicken or steak. This makes enough to feed 4 plus have extras a day or 2. We always make enough so that we can at them the next day because they are delicious and versatile. Taste great on toast, a sandwich, on pizza, mixed with pasta or a salad.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Sides, Dinner, Veggies
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family

Ingredients

Vegetables

  • 1 can chickpeas drained & rinsed
  • 1 package pre-cut mushrooms or 1 package mushrooms, rinsed & chopped. Here I used baby bellas, prepackaged.
  • 1-2 cups or 1 pint organic cherry tomatoes rinsed
  • 3-4 small to medium eggplant sliced into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices (the thinner the slice, the crispier the edges will be)
  • 1 bunch Swiss Chard or 1 5 oz package baby spinach
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil for tossing and coating
  • 6-7 Garlic cloves minced
  • Kosher salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Fresh basil and parsley for garnish
  • Polenta - 1 package precooked polenta cut into 1/4 inch circles. We used Ancient Harvest.

Instructions

Vegetables

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place parchment paper on 3-4 baking sheets.
  • All the vegetables were placed individually in a single layer on baking sheets and roasted at 400 degrees for varying times and with the following seasoning (feel free to adjust to taste):
  • Chickpeas- Toss in olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder (optional) Roast 15 minutes. Roast up to 30 minutes for crispier chickpeas.
  • Mushrooms - Toss in olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper Roast 15-20 minutes or until tender. (alternatively, saute in a medium saucepan with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper for 10-15 minutes or until tender)
  • Cherry tomatoes - Toss in olive oil and garlic. Sprinkle with salt. Roast 10 minutes or until starting to blister.
  • Eggplant: Brush both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Lay in a single layer on individual baking sheets and bake 20 minutes, flip, and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until tender and slightly crispy
  • Swiss Chard or Spinach - heat a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat one minute. Add Swiss chard or spinach and saute, stirring frequently for 5-7 minutes until starting to wilt. Add 2-3 cloves minced garlic, stir to combine and cook another 2-3 minutes or until the greens are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Place all roasted vegetables on a platter and top with fresh basil and parsley

Polenta

  • Brush both sides of polenta slices with olive oil. Heat grill pan or grill to medium heat. Place polenta in single layer on grill pan, grill 10 minutes, flip and grill an additional 10 minutes or until both sides crispy Alternately, if you don't have a grill or grill pan, saute the polenta slices in a medium saute pan over medium heat, flipping once, until both sides crispy.
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!

 

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