Spicy Polenta Tarts with Okra and Sweet Corn

These Spicy Polenta Tarts with Okra and Sweet Corn were inspired by a recipe I saw online. It’s funny how some of these pinterest recipes work (p.s. Are you following me on pinterest? You should be), you keep tracing them back and tracing them back to their original incarnation, only to find that they were inspired by another earlier recipe, and now mine is part of the chain. Often, (for me anyway) pinterest recipes are filed away, never to be thought of again. But these Spicy Polenta Tarts with Okra and Sweet Corn were so appealing, and I’d been looking for something unexpected, but Southern inspired, so they made it to the top of my “try it out” list (I’m so glad they did). Not only were they beautiful, but they featured a new okra application that was a fun surprise for guests and as a side the tarts were a welcome departure from the traditional mashed potatoes and biscuits. Since I served my fried chicken on the good linens with the new French wine glasses, fresh peonies, and a gorgeous Summery rosé wine, a more elegant side was in order. My Updated Southern Supper proved the perfect occasion for Spicy Polenta Tarts with Okra and Sweet Corn.

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Spicy Polenta Tarts with Okra and Sweet Corn

Spicy Polenta Tarts with Okra and Sweet Corn is an elegant side for my Updated Southern Supper featuring cheesy, spicy tarts with fresh corn and okra.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 ¼ cups vegetable broth
• 1 ¾ cups water
• 1  ¼ cups polenta or coarse grits I picked a bright yellow one, and contrasted with white corn
• 4 ounces grated parmigiano reggiano extra aged for a more bold flavor
• 1 large egg and 1 egg white room temperature
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• butter or olive oil for the pan

Filling

• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 2 + ounces grated parmigiano reggiano same as above
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil; chopped
• 2 ears corn I liked white for this recipe aesthetically
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeños
• 4 cups okra buy whole, fresh ones, small is better; they’re more tender

Instructions

• Grate all of the parm (I use a food processor or blender. Fine is good).
• To make the crust, by bring water and broth to a boil. Add salt to taste.
• Slowly pour in the polenta in a thin stream while whisking for 30 additional seconds. Turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring at least every two minutes to prevent sticking. Turn off heat completely and cover polenta for 10 minutes. Stir in cheese, egg, and pepper.
• Grease your mini tart pans with olive oil or butter (I have nonstick tart pans and Marc was assisting. He told me that he forgot to grease some of them, and I couldn’t figure out which those were, so if you want to roll the dice, you could cut down on some fat here).
• Fill a small bowl with water and set out next to the pans.
• Using your fingers, press about 3 tablespoons of dough into each pan. It will want to stick to your fingers, so the water comes in handy for keeping your fingers slippery. This step is a little messy, but you’ll be quite quick by the fourth one. Place them on a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 325° F. Make the filling by mixing together sour cream, cheeses, eggs, salt, and pepper.
• Cut the jalapeños in half and seed them. Mince finely. Add to filling.
• Chop the scallions and basil fairly fine.
• Take a bite of the raw corn. If it’s sweet and flavorful, remove it from the cob and leave it raw. If it isn’t sweet summer corn, bring salty water to a boil and cook the corn for 2 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the corn into the filling.
• Mix well.
• Spoon or pour the filling into the crusts, but don’t fill completely.
• Slice the okra into ¼ inch rounds. Arrange the raw okra so that it fills the tarts.
• Bake tarts for about 20 minutes (filling should be firm).
• Serve with piping hot fried chicken. These were awesome for breakfast with a poached egg on top (you’ve probably figured out by now that a poached egg is my solution to 50% of all breakfasts and 25% of all leftovers).

Notes

Makes 12 tarts using 4.5 inch pans with some dough leftover, but no filling. We had the polenta served as grits for breakfast with poached eggs and roasted tomatoes. While I was inspired by a Princess Tofu recipe, she took the crust from Maria Speck’s Artichoke-Rosemary Tart (credit where credit is due). Of course, I can never leave things be, so, mine has plenty of modifications.