Baked peppers with garlic cream and polenta-parmesan topping

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 large bell peppers, yellow, red or green
• 4 garlic cloves
• 100 g cream cheese or herb cream cheese, depending on your taste
• n. B. Salt
• n. B. Pfeffer
• 150 ml vegetable stock
• 40 g polenta semolina
• 1 tsp paprika powder, sweet or hot, depending on your taste
• 25 g Parmesan, finely chopped or grated
• possibly bacon (bacon strips) or Parmesan for topping

Instructions

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

Wash the peppers, then cut off the top and stem for another use. Remove the seeds so you can fill a nice container. For the garlic cream, combine the cream cheese with the finely chopped garlic, salt, and pepper, and mix until spreadable. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil, add a little paprika to taste, and slowly add the cornmeal. Stir constantly and reduce the heat immediately after boiling, otherwise the polenta will explode! Let it simmer for a while until it forms a homogenous, thick mixture, about as thick as mashed potatoes. Add the Parmesan cheese to the still-hot polenta. Wait about 3-5 minutes until it has combined with the cornmeal and melted. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (top and bottom heat). Fill the two peppers with the garlic cream, then add the polenta. The peppers should be filled right to the brim. You can then add strips of Parmesan cheese or bacon to create a crispy crust! Place the peppers in a pot with a little water. The water prevents them from burning. The peppers should be placed very close together in the pot so they don’t fall over. Bake in the oven for about an hour, until the peppers are nicely cooked through, but not too soft. I serve them with a simple, fruity tomato sauce and salad.