Rustic Polenta Casserole Food

CREAMY PARMESAN POLENTA

Steps:

• Place the chicken stock in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over medium-high heat until the stock comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and very slowly whisk in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Switch to a wooden spoon, add the salt and pepper, and simmer, stirring almost constantly, for 10 minutes, until thick. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly while you're stirring. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, creme fraiche, and butter. Taste for seasonings and serve hot with extra Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

ITALIAN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage and ground beef on medium-high 5 to 6 minutes or until browned, stirring and breaking up meat with side of spoon. With slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to medium bowl.
• To same Dutch oven, add onion; cook on medium 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with their puree; heat to boiling on high, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add eggplant and meat; cover and cook 5 minutes on medium. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer or until eggplant is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In microwave-safe 4-quart bowl, with wire whisk, combine water, broth, cornmeal, and salt. Microwave on High 15 to 20 minutes or until cornmeal mixture is very thick. After first 5 minutes of cooking, whisk vigorously until smooth (mixture will be lumpy at first); whisk 2 more times during remaining cooking time. Remove from microwave, whisk in Romano.
• Spoon 2 cups hot polenta into each of two 1 1/2-quart shallow casseroles. Spread polenta over bottom and up sides of casseroles. Spoon filling over polenta. Spread remaining polenta around casserole edge to form a rim. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons additional grated Romano, Parmesan, or Asiago.
• Bake one casserole 30 minutes or until hot. Let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. (Freeze the other one for later.).
• Makes 8 servings (in 2 casserole dishes).
• Note: if you want to lower the fat content, use turkey Italian sausage. Make sure to use quality sausage - I've used my favorite, our freshly made Merguez, and good sausage really makes a difference.

POLENTA LAYERED WITH CABBAGE AND SAUSAGES

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add sweet Italian sausages; saut&é sausages until golden brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Add thinly sliced cabbage; saut&é until cabbage is wilted, about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups beef stock and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil. reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 minutes to blend flavors. Remove sausages.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spoon half of Basic Polenta into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Top with half of cabbage and half of cooking liquid. Spoon remaing polenta atop cabbage. Arrage Italian sausages atop polenta. Spoon remaining cabbage and cooking liquid over sausages. Bake unitl flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

BARELY COOKED SALMON WITH PARMESAN POLENTA AND MUSHROOM CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Place the button mushrooms in a pan, cover with 8 cups of the water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 3 hours.
• Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the mushrooms to release the liquid. You should have at least 2 cups mushroom stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a saucepan and set aside. (The stock can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to a month.)
• Trim the gyromitre or morel mushrooms, discarding the stems, and halve them. Because these mushrooms can be particularly sandy, soak them in cold water to remove any dirt. Lift out of the water, rinse, and repeat two more times.
• Heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until the mushrooms are tender and have given up their liquid, but are not dry, 10 to 15 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the butter and the parsley and toss to incorporate. Set the pan aside.
• Bring the milk, the remaining 2 cups water, and 4 tablespoons of the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower the heat to a simmer. Whisking constantly, slowly add the polenta, continuing to whisk until the polenta is completely incorporated. Cook for 5 minutes. The polenta will be very thin. Add the Parmesan and stir to incorporate. Set the pan aside.
• Cut the salmon crosswise into 1-inch slices. Pull the ends of each side together, as if you were closing a book, and secure with a toothpick. In a flameproof shallow casserole large enough to accommodate all the salmon fillets, bring 1/4 inch of generously salted water to a simmer. Season each fillet on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the casserole. Gently poach for 3 to 5 minutes, until the salmon is warm to the touch on top, but still quite rare on top and inside.
• Meanwhile, gently reheat the mushroom broth, the wild mushrooms, and polenta. If the mushrooms are dry, add another tablespoon of butter and a bit of water to moisten.
• To serve, spoon a circle of polenta into the center of each plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of the mushroom broth around each polenta circle. Place 2 salmon fillets on each bed of polenta and spoon the mushrooms over the salmon. Serve immediately.

CHICKEN RUSTICA OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• Instructions: Brown bacon in large deep pan. Remove bacon, leaving 1-2 T. drippings in pan.
• Dust chicken pieces with flour, salt and pepper. Brown chicken pieces 4 minutes each side in bacon fat; remove to platter when browned both sides.
• Make sauce: Heat oil, add chopped onion; sauté over low heat 6-8 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 2 more minutes.
• Add all other sauce ingredients and mix. Add bacon and browned chicken pieces; gently simmer 30 minutes.
• Add drained beans and simmer 10 more minutes. During this last 10 minutes, make polenta.
• Polenta: combine water and salt in a large glass microwave-safe bowl; whisk in cornmeal. Cover and microwave on HIGH 4 minutes; stir. Uncover and microwave 2 minutes; stir. Microwave 2 more minutes; stir in Parmesan cheese; sprinkle with parsley.
• To serve, spoon polenta in a bowl, then top with chicken and plenty of the chunky sauce. Garnish with parsley.