Yotam Ottolenghi's polenta recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi's grilled green polenta: One of the great quick store-cupboard standbys gets a tasty makeover. Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardia

Of all the dry store cupboard ingredients, quick-cook polenta makes the fastest meal. But remember that polenta needs plenty of enhancements – butter, cheese, olive oil – to turn on its soft and soothing charm.

Grilled green polenta (V)

This rich dish needs a simple, sharp salad. Later in the year, try diced tomatoes very lightly dressed with olive oil and red-wine vinegar instead of this rocket salad. Serves six.

40g basil
20g parsley
20g rocket
10g tarragon
1 clove garlic, crushed
70ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
600ml water
150g quick-cook polenta
70g parmesan (or other mature hard cheese), grated
70g unsalted butter
Salt and black pepper
100g ricotta
For the salad
100g rocket
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice 

Put all the herbs, the crushed garlic and the olive oil in a food processor, blitz to a paste and set aside.

In a large pan, bring the water to a boil, pour in the polenta and stir continuously until cooked, three to four minutes. (You may need a touch more water to make it more spreadable.) Fold in the parmesan, butter, a teaspoon of salt, some black pepper and the herb paste. Now fold in the ricotta – swirl this through, rather than mixing in uniformly. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

With a palette knife, spread the polenta in a 22cm by 22cm baking tray lightly greased with olive oil. (Wet the knife with cold water to stop the polenta sticking.) Leave for 30 minutes to cool and set.

Heat the grill. Cut the polenta into six and space on a baking tray. Grill for eight minutes, until it takes on some colour. Mix the salad and season lightly. Serve a piece of polenta with some salad alongside.

Asparagus with polenta (V)

The two cheeses add complexity, but you could use just one, albeit doubling the quantity. Serves four.

16 asparagus spears
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
30g walnuts, roughly chopped
½ garlic clove, crushed
100g quick-cook polenta
20g unsalted butter
20g parmesan (or other mature hard cheese), grated
20g stilton (or other blue cheese), crumbled
Grated zest of 1 lemon plus 2 tsp lemon juice
40g soured cream
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Bring a large pan of water to a boil, blanch the asparagus for two minutes, drain and refresh in cold water. Pat dry, gently toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy frying pan and chargrill the asparagus spears for two minutes, turning once, so they colour all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Mix the walnuts with the garlic and set aside.

Pour half a litre of water into a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, then pour in the polenta. Stir constantly on very low heat until cooked, about three minutes. Add the butter, parmesan, stilton and half the lemon zest, and stir until the cheese and butter melt in. (You may need to add a little water to bring the polenta to pouring consistency.) Stir in half a teaspoon of salt, or to taste, and some black pepper.
To serve, spoon a dollop of polenta on to each plate, followed by two teaspoons of soured cream. Lean four spears of asparagus on the polenta. Sprinkle over the garlic walnuts, followed by the remaining zest, a drizzle of lemon juice and the parsley. Serve straight away.

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.