Summer Corn and Zucchini over Creamy Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 cup Cornmeal / polenta
• 3 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Zucchini, half-moons
• 3 ears Corn kernels, kernels cut off
• 1 cup Cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 cloves Garlic, sliced
• ¼ tsp Red pepper flakes
• 2 oz Goat cheese (chèvre), crumbled
• ⅜ cup Fresh basil, torn
• ¾ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp juice Lemon

Method

1. Bring broth and milk to a bare simmer with half the salt. Rain in the cornmeal while whisking constantly — lumps form in the first 30 seconds or not at all.
2. Cook on low 20-25 minutes, whisking every few minutes, until it is thick and no longer gritty. Off heat, stir in parmesan and butter.
3. Meanwhile heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high with the olive oil. Add zucchini cut-side down in one layer and leave it alone 4 minutes until it blisters.
4. Add corn, garlic and pepper flakes; 3 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook 2 minutes just until they slump. Season, and finish with lemon juice.
5. Spoon polenta into wide bowls, pile the vegetables on top, and scatter goat cheese and basil so it melts into the heat.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Wide shallow bowls, polenta spread with the back of a spoon rather than mounded, vegetables piled slightly off-center.

🧒 For the kids

Polenta is essentially savory porridge and most kids love it. Serve theirs with corn and cheese only, vegetables alongside.

🌿 From the garden

This exists to solve the August zucchini problem. Local Ohio sweet corn from a roadside stand is worth the detour.

🥡 Leftovers

Polenta sets solid in the fridge. Slice it into slabs and pan-fry in olive oil until crisp — a completely different, better dish.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.