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A Quick Elegant Appetizer: Crispy Polenta Bites with Arugula Tapenade

Would you believe that it only takes about seven minutes to put together this elegant and delicious appetizer.  Open up a bottle of wine, invite a friend(s) or not and enjoy. Crispy Polenta Bites with Arugula Tapenade
Recipe from Food and Wine

One 16-ounce log of prepared polenta, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped arugula
2 tablespoons chopped olives
3 radishes, very thinly sliced

1. Trim the polenta's rounded edges to create a rectangle; halve lengthwise.  Spread the panko on a plate.  Press both sides of the polenta in the panko to coat.  In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the  oil.  Cook the polenta until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes per side; add 1 tablespoon of the oil after flipping.

2.  Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil with the lemon juice, arugula and olives.  Season with salt and black pepper and toss.

3.  Cut the polenta into 16 pieces.  Top with the radishes and arugula tapenade. Posted by Velva at 7:57 PM Labels: appetizers, arugula, polenta 
These look amazing! Pinning to my "yummy" board!

June 22, 2013 at 7:56 AM 
no kiddin'! love it! perfect!!!

June 22, 2013 at 11:52 AM 
oh they look perfect :-) and so fast great combo

June 22, 2013 at 3:48 PM 
I love using polenta as a base for appetizers

June 22, 2013 at 4:41 PM 
It looks so yummy and quick and easy. Just how I like it.

June 22, 2013 at 5:05 PM 
I might try this with baked cheese grits, sounds great.

June 22, 2013 at 9:25 PM 
Wow, these look great and easy!

June 22, 2013 at 10:17 PM 
I didn't even know you could buy logs of prepared polenta but then I guess I never looked for it! I am definitely going to try these. I love the combination of arugula and radishes. I'll bet some shaved Parm would be great on top too.

June 23, 2013 at 12:34 PM 
A perfect recipe for entertaining.

June 23, 2013 at 1:54 PM 
My family loves arugula, especially my husband. This looks delicious!

June 23, 2013 at 5:13 PM 
What a lovely little appetizer, Velva. Perfect for summer entertaining.

June 23, 2013 at 5:53 PM 
Beautiful! I wish I'd had this recipe a couple of weeks ago when I had arugula from my CSA!

June 23, 2013 at 7:42 PM 
What a clever and scrumptious idea! :-)

June 23, 2013 at 9:31 PM 
Wow, I would have expected it to take longer than that to cook the polenta! This looks so appealing :)

June 24, 2013 at 5:43 AM 
These look so appetizing and moreish!

June 24, 2013 at 12:22 PM 
I'm always looking for new and tasty app ideas, thanks Velva!

June 24, 2013 at 2:20 PM 
Very pretty and a lot of eye appeal.

June 24, 2013 at 3:06 PM 
Love these.. What a great little bite...

June 24, 2013 at 4:57 PM 
I love the idea of panko crusted polenta...crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. The perfect texture combo.

June 24, 2013 at 8:39 PM 
That's a quick apetizer :) Looks great! :)

June 25, 2013 at 4:02 AM 
What a pretty appetizer - the thinly sliced radishes look so nice.

June 25, 2013 at 6:24 AM 
I love this, Velva. I can just taste those fresh from the garden radishes!

June 25, 2013 at 8:30 AM 
This is a great idea! I always aspire to serve platters of lovely "bites" but then usually opt for cheese and crackers, since most appetizers take more time than the meal to prepare! I'm adding this to my culinary bucket list!

June 25, 2013 at 8:38 AM 
Really elegant and really delicious -

June 25, 2013 at 10:37 AM 

June 25, 2013 at 7:07 PM 
Oh wow! They look so elegant and who would have guessed that they only take minutes to prepare... let's get that wine open then :)

June 26, 2013 at 4:33 AM 
Oh these look so delicious!!

June 26, 2013 at 10:09 PM 
like, like, like!

June 28, 2013 at 4:49 PM