Chilli Bean and Polenta Pies
Don’t you just love a good pie
This month’s Recipe Redux challenge was to make a healthy version of a favorite pie – and here is mine…
I started by making a very tasty and healthy chilli for the filling….
chilli
And replaced the unhealthiest part of most pies – the pastry – with polenta!
Pastry usually contains a lot of fat and most commercial pastries also contain trans fat, the worst type of fat you can eat as it increases your risk of heart disease.
polenta pie cases
You bake the polenta cases until golden, then fill with the hot chilli
Top with a tasty cheese and bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese melts
They are delicious!
chilli polenta pies straight out of the oven…
- Chilli:
- 1 large brown onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for the polenta
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
- 2 medium flat mushrooms, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 medium zucchinis, diced
- 1 x 400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- pepper
- Polenta:
- 1½ cups cornmeal (polenta)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2½ cups boiling water
- salt, to taste
- 80g tasty cheese, freshly grated (I used Mersey Valley ploughmans which has onion in it...yum!)
- Start by making the chilli:
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat
- When hot add onion and olive oil and sautee for 4-5 minutes, until onion starts to brown
- Add garlic, oregano, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and chilli and sautee for a few minutes
- Add mushrooms and carrots and mix through to coat with spices, then add zucchinis, beans, tomatoes and stock
- Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, until vegetables are cooked
- Mix cornflour with a little water and stir through chilli
- Turn heat off and set aside
- Polenta:
- While chilli is cooking, pour cornmeal into a high sided saucepan
- Add vegetable stock slowly whilst stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps, then add boiling water
- Place over low-medium heat with a lid on and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes
- Turn heat off and set aside to cool slightly with the lid on for 5 minutes
- Heat oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease 8 pie tins with a little olive oil
- Divide polenta into 8 and press into the base of the pie tins - if the mix starts to cool and becomes difficult to mould, wet your fingers slightly
- Brush polenta cases with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes until they start to turn golden brown
- Fill the pie cases evenly with the chilli bean filling, then top with a little grated cheese
- Return to the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted
- Serve with salad or steamed greens
These pies keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. I would not recommend freezing them.
To reheat, you can put them back in the oven, or microwave for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes.
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mmm this sounds tasty! I would love to have this pie for dinner!
Thanks Rachel – I hope you give them a go. They are verrry tasty!! 🙂
Hello – what a good idea to use polenta in a crust! And love all those summer veggies in the chili! (BTW you may want to switch the spelling of Chilli in your title for better SEO. 🙂
Hi Serena – Thanks for that tip. Here in Australia we spell it with two ‘l’s – I’ll have work out some way of incorporating both spellings 🙂
I love all things cornmeal so, of course, I think the polenta crust is a greta idea. Will try it.
Thanks Judy – let me know how you go. Also if you get a chance, try my baked polenta pudding, my polenta french toast and polenta porridge 🙂
Love this concept – you had me at polenta crust!! They’re beautiful 🙂
Thanks Sarah 🙂