Baked polenta with feta, béchamel and za’atar tomatoes

This is a happy-looking pie, with its yellows and reds and wonderfully golden edges. Serve with the chicory salad or anything leafy and green. If you like, you can keep this gluten-free by swapping out the flour for gluten-free flour.

Baked polenta with feta, béchamel and za’atar tomatoes Credit: Elena Heatherwick

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1:30 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

"It's not a pizza, insisted Noor, when referring to this baked polenta, which does in fact look like a giant pizza. It ended up with multiple names at the Test Kitchen such as: 'polenta-pizza', 'polizza' or 'polenta not-a-pizza'."

Ingredients

• 80 g unsalted butter
• 50 g plain flour
• 750 ml whole milk
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 200 g quick-cook polenta
• 65 g pecorino Romano, roughly grated
• 180 g Greek feta, roughly crumbled
• 5 g oregano sprigs (try to use the softer sprigs)

Za'atar tomatoes

• 400 g cherry tomatoes
• 120 ml olive oil
• 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbsp za'atar
• ½ tsp caster sugar
• 5 g parsley, roughly chopped
• 5 g oregano leaves, roughly chopped
• salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan-forced.
2. To make the za'atar tomatoes, combine the tomatoes, oil, vinegar, garlic, ½ tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium baking dish, roughly 30 cm x 20 cm. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40–45 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the tomatoes have just burst but aren't completely falling apart. Remove the foil, gently stir in the za'atar and sugar and leave to cool completely. Once cool, stir in the herbs (gently, so as not to break up the tomatoes).
3. Turn the heat up to 230°C fan-forced. Line a large baking tray roughly 40 cm x 30 cm in size with baking parchment.
4. Put 40 g of the butter into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the flour and cook, whisking continuously, for 30 seconds or until it smells like popcorn. Slowly pour in 350 ml of the milk, whisking continuously to avoid any lumps, then add the garlic, ½ tsp of salt and plenty of pepper, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until quite thick and no longer floury-tasting. Set aside and cover with a piece of baking parchment, to stop a skin from forming.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the polenta by first putting the remaining 400 ml of milk, 300 ml of water, 20 g of butter, 1¼ tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium sauté pan (or saucepan) over medium-high heat. Once it gently bubbles, turns the heat down to medium-low, slowly add the polenta, whisking continuously to incorporate and cook for 2 minutes, to thicken. Add the pecorino and the remaining 20 g of butter and stir with a spatula until incorporated. Quickly transfer to your prepared baking tray and spread out in a large oblong shape about 1 cm thick and 38 cm in length. Spoon over the béchamel and spread it so it covers the surface, leaving a 1½ cm rim exposed around the edges. Top evenly with the feta and the oregano sprigs and bake for 22 minutes, or until golden and bubbling on top and starting to brown around the edges. Leave to cool for 5–10 minutes.
6. Spoon about half the za'atar tomatoes on top of the baked polenta, serving the rest in a bowl alongside. Use a pizza cutter to easily cut into slabs and serve warm.

Notes

• Keep the Za'atar tomatoes in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. Try spooning these onto bruschetta or using them as a sauce for pasta. 

Images and recipes from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad. Photography by Elena Heatherwick. Published by Penguin, (RRP $49.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

"It's not a pizza, insisted Noor, when referring to this baked polenta, which does in fact look like a giant pizza. It ended up with multiple names at the Test Kitchen such as: 'polenta-pizza', 'polizza' or 'polenta not-a-pizza'."