Chicken And Polenta Puttanesca Melts Food

CHICKEN-AND-POLENTA PUTTANESCA MELTS

Steps:

• Preheat broiler with rack 6 inches from heating element. Season polenta and chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high; swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Add polenta and cook, flipping once, until golden and crisp on edges, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add chicken to skillet; cook until browned on edges and cooked through, about 2 minutes a side. Transfer to plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil, olives, capers, and garlic to skillet; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
• Stir marinara into skillet; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; nestle in chicken and polenta, shingling them and spooning some sauce over top. Sprinkle with cheese; broil until bubbly, 4 to 5 minutes. Top with parsley; serve.

CHICKEN IN PUTTANESCA SAUCE OVER CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• The polenta: in a saucepan over med-high heat, combine the chicken stock and milk; season with salt and pepper.
• Bring up to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low.
• While the stock and milk are heating, heat a large skillet over med-high heat; add 2 tablespoons oil.
• Season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper; add to the hot skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
• Remove chicken from skillet to a plate; cover with foil, set aside.
• Return the skillet to the stove burner; add remaining 3 tablespoons oil; add in the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes.
• Saute about 3 minutes, until the anchovies melt into the oil and completely dissolve and the garlic becomes tender.
• Add in the olives, capers, tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley; bring sauce to a bubble; add chicken back to the pan, decrease the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• To the simmering chicken stock and milk, add the polenta; whisk constantly until the cornmeal masses together, 2 minutes.
• Add in the butter and grated cheese; stir to combine.
• If polenta becomes too thick, you can always add more stock or milk.
• Serve polenta in shallow bowls and top with a helping of the chicken and puttanesca sauce.

MEXICAN CHICKEN AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large skillet and cover with water; add chopped cilantro, oregano, onion and peeled clove of garlic.
• Cook chicken breasts over medium heat about 10 to 15 minutes; chicken should no longer be pink in center; remove chicken from pan and let cool; reserve liquid.
• Add ancho peppers to the reserved liquid in pan; cover and soak about 10 minutes (no heat on pan); drain liquid into a bowl.
• (Sometimes, I add the whole ancho to the pand and seed after they are softened.) Shred cooled chicken and set aside.
• Place peppers, garlic, tomato sauce and cumin in blender and blend on high until smooth, about 2 minutes; if you have an immersion blender you can add everything to the pan and blend.
• Pour mixture into a saucepan, add chicken and heat through about 3 or 4 minutes; use drained poaching liquid to thin a bit if it seems too dry.
• To make polenta, bring water to a boil; add salt.
• Add about 1/2 cup of the water to the cornmeal to make a paste or slurry; Slowly add cornmeal slurry to the boiling water, stirring until smooth; after 10 minutes add Splenda and corn kernels; cook another 3 to 5 minutes.
• Spoon 1/4 of the cooked polenta onto the serving plate; top with 1/4 of chicken and chili mixture; garnish with additional cilantro (optional) or chopped scallions (optional).
• OR If you prefer polenta wedges, coat a 9 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray and pour polenta into pan; smooth with a spatula; let polenta to firm up, about 3 minutes; cut into quarters and remove from pan.
• Place polenta slices in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray; cook on both sides until crispy, about 2 to 4 minutes per side.
• Place polenta wedge onto the serving plate; top with 1/4 of chicken and chili mixture; garnish with additional cilantro (optional) or chopped scallions (optional).