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.

CHICKEN PUTTANESCA PASTA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and anchovy paste and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and crushed red pepper, if using. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the olives, capers and Italian seasoning. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Nestle the chicken pieces in the sauce. Simmer until the chicken is warmed through, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Serve the chicken and sauce over the spaghetti and garnish with the oregano.

ROAST CHICKEN BREAST WITH POLENTA AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Place about 5 slices of the polenta in an even layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the chicken breasts on top of the polenta slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each with the Italian seasoning and Parmesan. Arrange the garlic cloves and tomatoes around the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil.
• Bake until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Garnish with Parmesan and olive oil to taste. Serve warm.

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).