Creamy Baked Polenta With Herbs and Green Onions

This is ultimate comfort food for me! I make this with roasted chicken and veggies and use some of the juices from the chicken to add more flavor. *For some reason, the baking time has been different for me. Sometimes it takes less baking time. It may depend on how coarse the cornmeal is. Just keep watching it and make sure it stays creamy and doesn't get hard. Once you stir in the herb mixture, you can make it more creamy by adding more broth or cream or you can thicken it up by putting it back in the oven for a few minutes. It's very versatile. You can use any herbs you like to go with your meal. This one is definately a keeper in our house. From the April 2001 Bon Appetit, modified by me.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6  cups water (can substitute some with chicken broth)
• 1 1⁄2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 2  teaspoons salt (less if using chicken broth)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons butter
• 4  green onions, thinly sliced
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 3 -4  tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
• 1 1⁄2-2  teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
• 1⁄3 cup  whipping cream
• 3⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1  teaspoon lemon peel, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Pour 6 cups water into sprayed 13x9 glass baking dish. Whisk polenta, salt and pepper into water. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes. Could be a little more or less. Make sure it doesn't get hard.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and garlic, saute 2 minutes. Stir in parsley, thyme and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
3. Stir polenta to blend. Stir green onion mixture, cheese and lemon peel into polenta. If liquid isn't completely absorbed, bake a little longer.