This cheesy polenta dish is super creamy and comforting on a cold day! The crispy, slightly spicy sunflower seeds provide such a great texture with the rest of the dish!
Pre-heat oven to 180°C (356°F). Cover a baking tray with parchment paper.
Peel the top half of the butternut and cut it into slices (not too thin).
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Roast at 180°C (356°F) for 40 minutes, then remove from the oven.
In the meantime, heat up 2 cups of water with salt. Once it starts boiling, pour in the ground polenta. Whisk well, then reduce the temperature to medium. After 3 minutes, when most of the water has been absorbed, add 2 more cups of water and mix.
Simmer on low-medium for 40 minutes. Stir every now and then to avoid burning. Then add milk, cheese and butter and mix in. Simmer for another 5 minutes (keep an eye on it) and take off the heat.
In a pan, heat up olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the aglio e olio sspice mixture and fry for 30 seconds. Then add the sunflower seeds and stir to coat them. Fry for 2 - 3 minutes while stirring every so often, then sprinkle on some salt.
Chop the fresh coriander and either add to the nut mixture or keep on the side.
Depending on how hungry you are, add 1 or 2 ladles full of cheesy polenta to a bowl or soup plate, top with roasted butternut, the sunflower seeds and fresh coriander. Enjoy!
Butternut: I used the top (seedless) part of the butternut. I didn't weigh it before but it was a bit more than a pound after I peeled it.
Aglio e Olio: It's a mixture of garlic, red pepper flakes and parsley. I buy mine in Italy but I'm sure you can also make it yourself by combining garlic granules, dried parsley and crushed red pepper flakes.
Serving size: depending on how hungry you are, this can serve 2 or 3 people.
