A gluten-free mini polenta pizza baked with marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, then topped with prosciutto and fresh basil. Topped with a thick balsamic glaze to marry all the fresh flavors of a classic pizza as a perfect match to a Pinot Noir.
Easy-Peasy Pizza
As appetizers go, this one is pretty easy to pull off once you have the polenta prepped. It’s gluten-free, full of flavor and a substantial bite (it’s not really finger food). I used this as part of a two-taste offering for the Pinot Noir we were serving. The other dish was the stuffed strawberry salad, so I wanted this to be more savory but coexist with the same balsamic glaze.
Wine Pairing
Original Pairing: Duck Pond Pinot Noir General Pairing: Pinot Noir, Chianti, or light bodied red wines Menu Overview
Specialty Ingredients
Pre-made Polenta
These come in chub tubes and I often get mine at Trader Joes. As an alternative, I’ve seen recipes for sheet polenta that you can cut out. But the tubes are soooo much easier.
Sauce
Get a pre-made pasta or pizza sauce that is thick. When it heats up it may run a bit, so the thicker the sauce the better.
Toppings
This recipe is mostly a Margherita pizza base, but you can do this with almost any pre-cooked topping you want. Lean into quality ingredients that will shine.
Equipment
A sharp knife , basting brush and a spatula.
This is a simple recipe that takes only a few standard kitchen items. A chef size sharp knife to cut polenta, chop up the prosciutto and basil. I like a silicon basting brush (or pastry brush) to brush olive oil over polenta. And a simple spatula to pick up the polenta pizza’s off the tray once done.
Lined Baking Sheet
As the slices are sizable, I end up using two for the large batch of 30 polenta pizzas. Parchment paper is the universal lining product, but a silicon mat will work as well.
Planning the Dish
These don’t take long to make, but you can prep mis en plus style well ahead of time.
Timing
Days + ahead: Prep nuts (toasting, chopping) if not already prep.
Day before: Create filling, it is quick. Can also be made during marinade time.
Early day of: Clean and prep strawberries.
2+ hours serve: Marinade strawberries up to one hour
1+ hour serve: Stuff, pipe filling and garnish strawberies. If yoiu are more than 20 min to serve, keep refrigerated.
