Round two of A Pinch of Leftovers, here we go!

I find it hard to tell you that I actually had leftovers of the Sage, Prosciutto, & Walnut Pesto. How is that possible? How was it not finished with a spoon or a slice of one of the three baguettes I currently have in my freezer? Well, I made it for my annual Galentine’s Party as part of my bruschetta bar. In between all the duties of hosting a party, I overlooked refilling the pesto bowl. I didn’t just want a small reserve for myself or anything like that.

Whatever, there was plenty of herbed butter, cannellini beans and pancetta, and baked ricotta to go around. So what if I hoarded a few tablespoons of pesto?! Leave me alone!

Anyway, I had just a pinch of leftover pesto. So I decided to do something for Sunday brunch with it. I spotted a recipe for polenta with a poached egg and an olive-herb pesto on The Kitchn a while ago. After I made the sage pesto, I realized how well it could go with that recipe. And for a single serving, all you need is a pinch of pesto!

If you have any sort of left over pesto, whether it’s the sage pesto, my Arugula & Pistachio Pesto, or a classic basil pesto, it’ll be great with this recipe. I didn’t add any butter or salt to my polenta, but I would recommend you do. It was missing just that little bit of creaminess.

Would I recommend making a batch of sage pesto just so you can have leftovers for this? Yes, yes I would.

P.S. Fun news: You’ll have leftover polenta…unless you make this for 3-4 people. Yay!

Polenta with Sage Pesto and a Poached Egg

Adapted from the Kitchn

Serves one person (can serve more if you’re into that)

Ingredients:

1 cup polenta

4 cups water

½ cup Parmesan, grated

1 tablespoon butter

A few pinches of salt

2-3 tablespoons leftover Sage, Prosciutto, & Walnut Pesto

1 egg, poached or fried

Instructions:

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, slowly stir in the polenta. Lower to a simmer, cover the pot partially, and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Stir in the Parmesan, butter, and a pinch of salt and cover until ready to serve.
2. When the polenta is finished, cook your egg. I poached mine, but a fried egg would be just as good.
3. When ready to plate, ladle about 1 ½ cups of polenta onto a plate, plop your pesto in the middle, and top with your egg. Sprinkle with some extra Parmesan and sea salt and dig in!