Polenta With Sausage And Tomato Sauce Food

CREAMY POLENTA WITH PARMESAN AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, put cornmeal in a medium saucepan along with 1 cup water and whisk well to make a slurry; continue whisking mixture to eliminate any lumps. Put pan over medium-high heat, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, whisking frequently and adding water as needed to keep mixture loose and free of lumps, between 3 and 4 more cups. If mixture becomes too thick, simply add a bit more water; consistency should be similar to sour cream's.
• Polenta will be done in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on grind. Add cheese and butter. Taste and add salt, if necessary, and lots of pepper; serve topped with sausages.

SAUSAGE WITH CREAMY POLENTA AND TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sausage: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the broccoli rabe to the pot and cook for a few minutes. Drain and immediately transfer to the ice bath; let cool. Remove and pat dry, then chop finely. Set aside.
• Run the pork shoulder through a meat grinder, first using the medium grinder-plate, and then using the small grinder-plate.
• Transfer the ground pork to a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic, broccoli rabe, salt, fennel pollen, fennel seeds, red pepper and Parmesan. Mix well.
• Using a sausage stuffer, stuff the sausage mixture into casings, and twist into links. Cut the links to separate the sausages.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the sausage links into the pot, making sure they're submerged. Turn down the heat and simmer the sausages until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove and dry on paper towels. Set aside.
• For the polenta: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, 2 cups water and bay leaf to a boil. Season generously with salt, almost to the point of over seasoning. How do you know that you are there? Taste it! When the liquid has reached a boil, slowly whisk in the polenta in small sprinkles. Once all the polenta has been incorporated, reduce the heat to medium and immediately switch over to stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the polenta until it begins to pull away from the pan, adding water to loosen it up if it becomes too thick. When the polenta is thoroughly cooked, it should look creamy and not feel gritty on your tongue. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and mascarpone. Keep warm.
• For the tomato sauce: In a medium pot, combine the garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, 1 cup water, red pepper, basil and some salt. Bring to boil, lower heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• To serve, spoon a pool of polenta onto a plate, add a ladle of tomato sauce, and top with a sausage.

ITALIAN SAUSAGES IN TOMATO SAUCE WITH CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Cut each sausage link into 4 pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown all over, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
• Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the skillet. When hot, add the peppers, onion and zucchini and season with salt. Cook, tossing, until the vegetables just begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and reduce until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened and the flavors have melded, about 10 minutes.
• Return the sausage to the skillet, stir in the spinach and simmer until the sausage is heated through and the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in the polenta. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated Pecorino Romano and butter. Season with salt, if needed.
• To serve, chop the basil leaves and stir into the sauce. Spoon the hot polenta into 4 shallow bowls. Top each with some of the tomato mixture. Use a vegetable peeler to shave more cheese over the top and garnish each serving with a basil sprig.
• Party Version: Make the polenta following the directions above. Spread the finished polenta onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets in a thin even layer and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• Cut the polenta into squares (about 1 1/2 inches) and transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets (or re-line the original baking sheets). Bake at 325 degrees F until crisp, about 35 minutes. (The polenta squares will continue to crisp up as they cool.)
• Cut the sausage into thin rounds, then cook and remove following the directions above.
• Chop the bell peppers, onion and zucchini a little more finely than called for above, then follow the directions for making the tomato sauce. Add the browned sausage (but not the spinach) to the skillet and simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
• To serve, lay a spinach leaf on each polenta crisp. Top with a dollop of the tomato mixture and a sausage round. Shave a bit of the Pecorino Roman onto each and top with a basil leaf.

POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a simmer and add the polenta. Cook over low heat, stirring often, 45 minutes. Stir in the butter, Parmesan and olive oil and keep warm.
• Add the tomatoes, sausage, garlic, peppers, onion and crushed red pepper to a large cast-iron pot and simmer, 30 minutes. Serve sauce over polenta, topped with some ricotta and basil.

POLENTA CAKES WITH QUICK SAUSAGE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the polenta cakes: In a saucepan, combine the milk, water, bay, and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat and season generously with salt. Take the seasoning to the edge of too salty. To do this you must taste as you go. Polenta acts as a salt eraser, if you don't season abundantly here you will never recover from it.
• Once the liquid is at a boil and is seasoned appropriately, sprinkle in the polenta, whisking constantly. Once the polenta is combined, switch over to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until the polenta has become thick. Taste the polenta to see if it has cooked through. If it still feels mealy and grainy, add some more milk or water and cook it to a thick consistency. Repeat this process, as needed, until the polenta feels smooth on your tongue, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the sage and mascarpone.
• Line a 7 by 7-inch square pan with plastic wrap. Pour the polenta into the prepared pan. Cover the top with more plastic wrap smoothed onto the surface of the polenta. Chill in the refrigerator until needed. (All of this can totally be done ahead of time, like yesterday! Cool!)
• For the sauce: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place the sausage in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
• In a food processor, puree the onions, fennel, celery, and garlic until it becomes a coarse paste. Season with salt and give a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.
• When the sausage is roasted, remove it from the oven and coarsely chop.
• Coat a wide, deep pot with olive oil and add the pureed veggies. Cook the veggies until they start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Toss in the chopped sausage and the tomato puree. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove the polenta from the pan and cut into desired shapes. Coat a nonstick saute pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot and starting to smoke just a little, add the polenta shapes. Cook the polenta on both sides and finish by sprinkling with the Parmigiano.
• Transfer a few polenta cakes to a plate and top with the sausage sauce. Sprinkle with more grated Parmigiano.
• Place the pork shoulder in a bowl and keep cold until ready to use. Fill a large bowl with ice and place the bowl with the pork shoulder on top.
• Season the pork with garlic, salt, fennel seed, crushed red pepper, and coriander. Mix to combine well.
• Grind the pork shoulder twice through a grinding disk with large holes. Grind the meat into the bowl sitting on ice.
• Cook a small amount of the meat mixture to test for seasoning. Add more spices and salt, if needed. Thoroughly mix in a splash of cold water. Allow the seasoned pork to chill on ice or in the fridge before stuffing into the casing.
• Replace the grinder attachment with the horn. (Be sure to thoroughly clean the attachment area before proceeding.) Rub oil onto the horn, and then put the casing on, leaving a few inches of slack at the end.
• Stuff the casing, tie off the ends, and prick the sausage with a pin or the tip of a knife.
• Refrigerate the sausage until ready to cook.

POLENTA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine 1 cup water and cornmeal. In a saucepan, bring salt and remaining water to a boil. Slowly stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Cool slightly. Cut sausage into 1-in. pieces; return to skillet. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and parsley; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat., Spread half of the cornmeal mixture in a serving dish; top with half of the sausage mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE AND TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Chop whole onion and saute in hot oil in large nonstick pan.
• Mince garlic and add, cooking until onion begins to soften.
• Remove sausage from casing and crumble into pan; brown on all sides.
• Wash, trim and cube zucchini; add to pan and continue to cook until zucchini begins to take on color, about 2 minutes.
• Add tomato puree, tomato paste, wine, oregano, thyme, sugar and pepper; stir well, and cook over medium-low heat while preparing the polenta.
• Bring chicken stock to boil for polenta in covered pot.
• Grate cheese coarsely.
• Slowly stir cornmeal into boiling stock, and cook until mixture thickens to a soft mush. Remove from heat.
• Serve polenta topped with sausage-tomato sauce, sprinkled with cheese.