Polenta made from fresh corn cobs with Mediterranean vegetables

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 large corn cobs
• 100 g feta cheese, made from sheep’s milk or goat’s cream cheese
• Salt
• 150 g eggplant(s)
• 1 large onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 150 g zucchini
• 1 large red pointed pepper
• 150 g tomatoes, chopped from the can
• Harissa, optional
• ¼ Salted lemon(s), optional
• Salt and pepper, black, freshly ground

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Stand the corn cobs upright on a large board and cut off the kernels with a sharp knife. A large board is recommended, as the kernels tend to scatter when cut. Place the kernels in a pot with 250 ml of water and boil for 12-15 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid. Shred the corn kernels in a food processor or with a hand blender, reserving some of the liquid. Return to the pot, bring to a boil, adding a little more of the cooking water if necessary, add the crumbled feta or goat’s cheese, and season with salt and pepper. In the meantime, dice the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and finely dice the onion and garlic. First, fry the eggplant cubes in a little olive oil for a few minutes. This ensures that the eggplants will be soft, even if you don’t want to cook the other vegetables for as long. Remove the eggplant cubes and set aside. Heat a little more olive oil and sauté the diced onion and garlic. Add the zucchini and pointed peppers and fry vigorously. Now add the diced eggplant and the chopped tomatoes. Scrape the flesh from the salted lemon and finely dice the zest, then add it to the vegetables. Season to taste with harissa, a little of the liquid from the salted lemons, salt, and pepper. Arrange the polenta on two plates, make a well in the center, and add the vegetables. You can also make regular ratatouille, but I find that the version with harissa and salted lemon goes very well with the slightly sweet polenta.