Chargrilled polenta with roasted capsicum & Olives
Crisp-edged grilled polenta, silky roasted peppers steeped in garlic and good oil, and a scatter of proper olives: this is honest Mediterranean cooking, where a few plain ingredients shine because the olive oil and the olives are worth the plate they sit on.
This is the kind of dish the olive was made for. There is nowhere to hide: the polenta is plain, the peppers are just peppers, so the flavour comes almost entirely from the olive oil you dress them with and the olives you scatter on top. Cook it with a bland oil and cheap olives and it is dull. Cook it with a fresh, peppery extra virgin and good, named olives and it sings. Treat the shopping as half the recipe.
The method
Roast the peppers. Grill 3 or 4 red peppers whole, turning, until the skins are blackened all over. Seal them in a bowl or bag for ten minutes to steam, then peel, seed and tear into thick strips. Dress at once with a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil, a splash of good vinegar, a couple of finely chopped garlic cloves and a little salt. Leave to marinate while you make the polenta.
Set the polenta. Bring about a litre of salted water to the boil and pour in around 200 g of polenta in a steady stream, whisking. Cook, stirring, until thick and coming away from the pan — a few minutes for instant, longer for traditional. Stir in a handful of grated hard cheese, pour into an oiled tray to about 1.5 cm deep, smooth the top and leave to cool and firm up.
Grill and serve. Turn the set polenta out, cut into squares or wedges, and brush both sides with olive oil. Chargrill on a hot ridged pan for 2 to 3 minutes a side until crisp and marked. Pile on the marinated peppers, scatter with good olives and a few leaves of rocket, and finish with a final thread of your best raw extra virgin.
| Element | Choose | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Finishing oil | Fresh, peppery extra virgin, raw | It is the main flavour; heat would waste it |
| Olives | Good named table olives, e.g. a meaty green | Cheap tub olives taste flat and salty-only |
| Peppers | Ripe red, well charred and peeled | Charring brings sweetness, peeling brings silk |
| Cheese | A hard grating cheese | Adds savoury depth to plain polenta |
Which olives, and why it matters
Do not default to the anonymous black rings from a tin. A firm, buttery green olive — a Castelvetrano type, say — is glorious here, its sweetness playing off the peppers; a punchier Greek black brings depth if you want more bite. Pit them yourself from whole olives if you can, because pre-pitted olives lose flavour to the brine. This is a dish that rewards buying olives you would happily eat on their own.
Cook’s notes
- Make the polenta ahead — it needs to be properly cold and firm to grill without falling apart.
- Char the peppers hard; timid blackening makes them difficult to peel.
- Keep your best oil for the end, added raw off the heat, where its aroma survives.
- Buy whole olives and pit them yourself for far better flavour than pre-pitted.
Chargrilled polenta with peppers and olives: common questions
Can I make the polenta in advance?
Yes — it is better if you do. Set it in a tray and chill until firm, then cut and grill. Cold, firm polenta holds its shape on the grill far better than warm.
What olives work best?
Good, whole table olives you would enjoy on their own — a firm buttery green such as a Castelvetrano type is lovely, or a punchier black for more depth. Avoid bland pre-pitted tinned olives.
Which olive oil should I use?
Use an everyday extra virgin for the peppers and grilling, and save a fresh, peppery best bottle to finish the plate raw, where its flavour shines.
How do I peel roasted peppers easily?
Char the skins fully black, then seal the peppers in a bowl or bag for about ten minutes. The trapped steam loosens the skins so they slip off.
Is this dish vegetarian?
Yes, as written. Use a vegetarian hard cheese if you want to be strict, or leave the cheese out and lean harder on the olives and oil.
This is a shopping recipe as much as a cooking one. The polenta and peppers are just a stage; the olive oil and the olives are the act. Buy a fresh, genuinely peppery extra virgin and keep it for the final raw drizzle, and buy whole, good olives and pit them yourself — the pre-pitted ones leave their flavour in the brine. Get those two right and the rest is easy. Skimp on them and no amount of technique will save the plate.
An original olives101 recipe for chargrilled polenta with roasted peppers and olives.