When we talk about the practice of painting, one of the first things we learn is basic color combinations. Red plus blue equals purple. A use of purple next to yellow will pop more due to being contrasting colors. And while there’s much more to great painting than color pairings, it is true that if you follow the color wheel, you’ll have a great starting point in the world of visual arts.
While there’s no such thing as a simple “flavor wheel” in the realm of foods, there are several natural guides that clue us in on tantalizing ingredient combinations. Cooking seasonally is one method, as nature has a ingenious way of making the things that physically blossom together, also taste great with one another. Whether its raspberries and peaches, pumpkins and cranberries, or peas and leeks, if you cook by the season, you’ve got a pretty good chance of creating some exceptionally flavorful food.
Another way to combine ingredients is using the basic “like goes with like” rule. Specifically, a member of one food group can almost always be paired with a member of the same food group for tasty success. Things like almonds and hazelnuts (nuts), carrots and parsnips (roots), or lettuce and spinach (greens) work together time and time again.
But there’s a third way to discover ingredient pairings … one which we use more than we even realize at times, and produces phenomenal results: locality. The location of an ingredient’s origin is often a huge clue to other types of (also locally-grown) ingredients it might go with. This is where things beggin to get a little more creative: think combinations like olives and citrus (Greece), ginger and seaweed (Japan), or sweet potatoes and cinnamon (Africa). So it should come as no surprise then, that chia, the famed superfood of Central American origin, would be a spectacular addition to one of the most traditional staple foods of Central America of all: corn.
While it’s true that I often tout chia as the miracle culinary superfood that can be added almost anywhere due to its lack of pervasive flavor, there is something about chia paired with corn that feels so, so right. And it was this instinctual feeling that led me to add it to my last batch of polenta a couple weeks ago, which turned out so delicious (and transformed a normal basic carbohydrate into one pumped up with minerals, essential fatty acids, and additional satiating fiber), that I honestly don’t think I’ll ever make polenta without chia again. Like complimentary colors, this is one ingredient combination that is better, together.
Chia Polenta
The pleasures of creamy polenta are easily boosted with the nutritious addition of chia! This is a thinner, spoonable-style of polenta that goes especially well with proteins and roasted vegetables, or a blistered Portobello mushroom with sautéed kale (shown in photo).
Makes 4 servings
½ cup medium-grain organic polenta, or corn grits (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1½ tablespoons chia seeds
1½ tablespoons coconut oil
Sea Salt
Water
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add the polenta, whisking well, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, whisking often. Whisk in the chia seeds and additional cup of water. Continue to cook for one hour longer, whisking occasionally and scraping down the sides, and adding additional water as needed to maintain a porridge-like consistency.
Whisk in the coconut oil and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve immediately, or cover tightly and keep warm until ready to serve. Polenta will thicken as it cools.
Extra polenta can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a few days, and pan-seared in slices to re-serve.
