Polenta And Smoky Tempeh Breakfast

This savory polenta breakfast plate with smoky tempeh and pineapple salsa is SO good, you may want to have it for lunch and dinner too.

Summers are for taking it easy, but often times, we forget how easy a home-cooked meal actually is. I know, I know, we don’t want to turn on the stove, but this is a quick 10 minute thing that will make your taste buds sing, I promise. This polenta and smoky tempeh breakfast with pineapple salsa is seriously the way I think breakfast should be, whether you are following an eating plan or not. It’s just wholesome goodness made with real ingredients, and the perfect balance of sweet, salty, smoky, sour lime and fresh cilantro crazy good. Put away the shredded wheat and take my word for it.

Polenta Shortcuts

First and foremost, while I do love polenta, I don’t love cooking over the stove in the summer. When made from actual polenta cornmeal, it takes a while to bring to a boil, and then it spits and spatters as you have to stir until thickened. (I think I have battle scars on my hands from previous polenta adventures, and now I wear a glove when I stir.) However, in the fall/winter, I welcome this work since it warms me up. In the summer, not so much.

So I bought one of those polenta rolls at the store to make things really easy. It’s already cooked, and all you need to do is slice, measure, and heat. A quick grill on my cast iron grill pan (5 minutes tops) sound fine with me, with the fan going. If you’re serving polenta the night before to your family, even better – leftovers make me happy. Alternatively, you can just heat the slices up in a small toaster oven for 5-8 minutes.

Smoky Tempeh

I love making a big batch of this tempeh on a cool night and just having leftovers from the fridge for the following days. It’s so easy to throw on a salad, use as a breakfast plate like this one, even fill up a collard wrap with veggies and hummus. I’m the queen of cooking once and eating many times from that same batch. It makes life so simple. So note, this tempeh recipe makes two servings: one for the breakfast plate, one as leftovers for later.

Polenta And Smoky Breakfast Recipe

Polenta ingredients:

• 4 oz polenta slices (from a pre-packaged roll)
• quick spray of oil
• pinch salt &pepper

Tempeh ingredients (this makes enough for two 4-ounce individual servings, so use one and save the rest for later):

• One 8 oz package tempeh
• 1/2 cup water (you may need more as it cooks)
• 1/4 cup Tamari or soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Salsa ingredients:

• 5 oz diced pineapple (may also combine with peaches)
• 1 oz red onion, diced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• pinch salt
• 1 Tablespoon cilantro, minced

1. First, make the polenta. Heat a cast-iron grill (you can alternatively use a panini press, a regular cast iron pan, or even a pop in the toaster oven), spray with a little oil, and sear the polenta. Season with salt and pepper and plate.
2. Next make the tempeh: use your hands to crumble the tempeh into small pieces. in a skillet, add the tempeh and water. Cover and let simmer 10 minutes. You may have to add more water, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
3. After 10 minutes, release any leftover water (if there is any).
4. Add the Tamari and smoked paprika, stir well, and divide into two portions (one for now, one for later)
5. Make the pineapple salsa: combine the pineapple, onion, lime, salt, and cilantro and taste for seasoning.
6. Plate the polenta, 1 portion of tempeh and pineapple salsa.

Measurements:

For the way I eat, this constitutes one 4 oz grain, one protein serving (4 oz tempeh), and one fruit/veg serving. Enjoy!

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Polenta And Smoky Tempeh Breakfast

This savory polenta breakfast plate with smoky tempeh and pineapple salsa is SO good, you may want to have it for lunch and dinner too.

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Ingredients

  

Polenta ingredients

• 4 oz polenta slices (from a pre-packaged roll)
• quick spray of oil
• pinch salt & pepper

Tempeh ingredients

• One 8 oz package of tempeh
• 1/2 cup water (You may need more as it cooks)
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Salsa ingredients

• 5 oz diced pineapple (may also combine with peaches)
• 1 oz diced red onion
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• pinch salt
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, minced

Instructions

 

Make the polenta

• First, make the polenta. Heat a cast-iron grill (you can alternatively use a panini press, a regular cast iron pan, or even a pop in the toaster oven), spray with a little oil, and sear the polenta. Season with salt and pepper and plate.

Make the tempeh

• Next make the tempeh: use your hands to crumble the tempeh into small pieces. Add the tempeh and water to a skillet. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. You may have to add more water, so it doesn't stick to the bottom.After 10 minutes, release any leftover water (if there is any). Add the Tamari and smoked paprika, stir well, and divide into two portions (one for now, one for later)

Make the salsa

• Make the pineapple salsa: combine the pineapple, onion, lime, salt, and cilantro and taste for seasoning. Plate the polenta, 1 portion of tempeh and pineapple salsa. Enjoy!