Italian Polenta Skillet Pie

Last night was cold and a bit snowy/rainy, so naturally we felt like snuggling up with some comfort food. We have a good amount of veggies hanging around, so we decided to go Italian pot pie style. I named it a skillet pie for obvious reasons...we have a cast iron skillet, but no pot. Cast iron feels a little more rustic to me, and helps with the whole comfort food feel.

Italian Polenta Skillet Pie

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 Cups medium diced Zucchini

2 Cups medium diced Eggplant

3 Cups thick sliced Bell Pepper; red, yellow, green

1 small Onion, sliced

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Parsley

1 tsp. Thyme

1 tsp. Rosemary

1 tsp. Red Chili Flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Cups Water

1 Cup Corn Meal

3 Tbsp. freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese

Lightly copped fresh Rosemary

3 Tbsp Butter

2 Cups Veggie Stock, Chicken Stock or Water

1 Tbsp Corn Starch or any thickener you want

Preheat oven to 350 f. In skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add veggies and saute until tender. Add seasonings, turn heat down to medium low and let cook down, stirring occasionally.

In a separate pot, boil water and add corn meal. Whisk constantly over medium low to medium heat until thick, about 5 minutes. Add cheese, rosemary, salt and pepper.

In another pot, melt butter and add most of the stock, reserving about 1/3 Cup and bring to a low boil. Whisk the corn starch and reserved cold stock together and add into the boiling stock/butter mixture. Add salt and pepper. Whisk until thickened, this should take less than a minute.

Pour sauce into the skillet over the veggies. Add some more butter for good measure ;) Spread the polenta over the top of the veggies, making sure to seal the edges completely.

Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the top starts to crisp and turn golden. Once out of the oven, sprinkle shredded parmesan, rosemary, salt and pepper over the top.