Baked Polenta with Spinach and Feta Cheese

I love to cook with spinach and use it quite often, occasionally it is necessary to only use fresh spinach, but I find more often frozen spinach makes a good and practical substitute. It's one of those ingredients that's full of vitamins and versatile enough that I can use for a variety of purposes, I always keep some stocked in my freezer.

I bought a few packages of feta cheese the other day and have been going a bit crazy with it. Feta is one of my favorite cheeses. It reminds me of all of the great Greek restaurants that I used to eat at when I lived in Buffalo, NY. It was this Greek cuisine that I had in mind when I created this quick and delicious Mediterranean dish can be served as a vegetarian main course or as a savory side dish.

Baked Polenta with Spinach and Feta Cheese
Serves 2 (as a main course)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic- minced
1 cup of frozen spinach- thawed and drained (or @ 1 lb. of fresh spinach)
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and fresh grated black pepper to taste
8 oz of ready to use Polenta , (pre-cooked)
3 oz of feta cheese-crumbled
2 stalks of green onion- chopped
few sprinkles of grated parmesan cheese

6" x 9" baking dish
Aluminum foil
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• Heat a frying pan to medium high heat with the olive oil
• Saute the garlic for about a minute, then mix in the spinach
• Add the tarragon, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, mix together and cook for 2 minutes, then put aside
• Pre-heat the oven to 350º
• coat the bottom of a 6" x 9" baking dish with butter or with cooking spray
• Place a 1/2 inch (2.5 cm) thick layer of the polenta on the bottom of the dish
• Spread on a layer of the spinach mixture over top of the polenta
• Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over top of the spinach mixture
• Sprinkle the chopped green onion over top of the feta, then finish off with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese and a bit more fresh grated black pepper
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes at 350º
• After 20 minutes remove the foil and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes (30 minutes total baking time)
• Let cool 10 minutes before serving, enjoy!

Baked Polenta with Spinach and Feta Cheese