Polenta Gratin with Leeks, Swiss Chard and Gruyere

Tonight's supper is from a recipe I found on NPR. It was a story called "Going with While Grains" that aired a year ago.

I've adapted this recipe to accommodate the fact that I don't have any dry white wine in the house. Actually no wine at all at the moment (*gasp!*). I've also added a few grates of nutmeg because I think I pretty much have to do that with chard or spinach. Just gotta.

Stuff you need:

6 C water
2 tsp salt
1 3/4 C yellow cornmeal
1 C grated Gruyere
2 T Olive oil
3 Leeks, thinly sliced and then washed
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 T fresh, chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard-white or rainbow, separate leaf from ribs, chop and wash
Nutmeg
Juice of one lemon
Red pepper flakes
1/4 C grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the polenta: Bring the water to a boil with the salt. Whisk in the cornmeal. When it's all well-incorporated and bubbling, turn the heat down to simmer and monitor it for 15 minutes, giving it a stir periodically. Stir half the Gruyere into that. Season to taste. Set aside.

While the polenta is cooking, saute the leeks in olive oil until they begin to soften. Add in the chard. Start it cooking down and then stir in the lemon juice. Put in a couple of grates of fresh nutmeg, or 1/8 tsp. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let it all cook down until the chard is completely wilted and the edge is taken off the lemon taste.

Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Spread half the polenta mixture on the bottom, layer on the greens, sprinkle the rest of the Gruyere, and then spread on the rest of the polenta. Top with the Parmesan or Romano, whichever you are using. Bake until golden brown and delicious, about 45 minutes.