Recipe: Chickpea polenta with olives

Dietitian's tip: Panisse, a polenta-like side dish from southern France, is usually cut like french fries and fried. This adaptation is baked, then broiled until crispy. Chickpea flour can be found in Italian or East Indian markets.

 

Ingredients

Directions

In a blender or food processor, combine the flour, soy milk, stock, olive oil, garlic, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Pour the batter into a large bowl. Let stand for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large, spotlessly clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until puffed and lightly browned around the edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Position the rack 4 inches from the heat source.

While the polenta is cooling, make the topping. In a small saute or frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and lightly golden, about 6 minutes. Add the olives and tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Carefully spoon the onion mixture evenly over the baked polenta and sprinkle with the cheese. Broil until the top is lightly browned. Watch carefully; this takes only about 1 minute. Sprinkle with the parsley. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into 8 squares, then cut the squares on the diagonal into 16 wedges. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis

(per serving)

Serving size: 2 wedges
Calories	152	Monounsaturated fat	3 g
Protein	9 g	Cholesterol	1 mg
Carbohydrate	18 g	Sodium	275 mg
Total fat	5 g	Fiber	3 g
Saturated fat	1 g

MAYO CLINIC HEALTHY WEIGHT PYRAMID SERVINGS

Protein and dairy	1
Fats	1

• Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid tool
• Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid: A sample menu

DIABETES MEAL PLAN EXCHANGES

Starches	1/2
Milk and milk products	1/2
Nonstarchy vegetables	1
Meat and meat substitutes	1/2
Fats	1

• Your diabetes diet: Exchange lists

DASH EATING PLAN SERVINGS

Vegetables	1
Dairy foods (low-fat or fat-free)	1/2
Nuts, seeds and dry beans	1/2
Fats and oils	1

• DASH diet: Guide to recommended servings
• Sample menus for the DASH eating plan

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