Sausage And Pepper Ragu Over Polenta Food

SAUSAGE-AND-PEPPER RAGU OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high; melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pierce sausages with a fork; add to skillet. Cook until browned in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, cut vegetables into 1/2-inch slices; add to skillet. Season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until browned in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Return sausages to skillet with 3/4 cup broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes. Uncover; simmer until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes more.
• In a saucepan, combine polenta, 2 cups broth, and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Serve, with ragu, parsley, and more cheese and pepper.

SAUSAGE AND FENNEL RAGOUT WITH CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add in olive oil.
• Add in sausage, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon; cook until browned, 4-5 minutes.
• Add in the red onion, fennel, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables wilt and the onions become translucent.
• While the vegetables are cooking, start the polenta: In a saucepan, combine 2 ½ cups chicken broth and milk; season with salt and pepper.
• Place over med-high heat and bring to a simmer.
• Back to the vegetables: once the vegetables have wilted, add in the white wine and remaining 1 ½ cups chicken broth to the skillet; increase heat to high and bring up to a simmer.
• Cook about 4-5 minutes, to reduce liquids by half; stir in the chopped parsley.
• To the simmering chicken stock/milk, add in the polenta; whisk constantly until the cornmeal masses together.
• Add in the butter and grated cheese; stir to combine (if polenta becomes too thick, add more broth or milk).
• Serve polenta in a shallow bowl; top with a helping of sausage and fennel ragout; garnish with more Parmigiano-Reggiano.

SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS WITH FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• First make the polenta. Bring the chicken stock to a boil, add the salt and gently whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the cornmeal thickens, stirring frequently, about 15-20 minutes. (Note: The exact ratio of stock to cornmeal you will need will vary depending on the coarseness of the cornmeal.
• If you are worried, start with 3 cups of stock and keep the other cup hot in a small saucepan and add until you have the consistency you desire.) Remove from the heat and add the butter, stir well until melted. Lightly oil a baking dish and transfer the hot polenta to the baking dish. Spread evenly, the polenta should be 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Refrigerate uncovered until firm, about 2 hours.
• When the polenta is firm transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the polenta into the desired sizes. I like to use a round pastry cutter to create round slices of polenta, which looks nice but inevitably leads to waste - or what I like to call chef's treats. Cutting triangles would probably be just as visually appealing and less wasteful.
• Slice the onion and peppers thin and then saute over medium heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, about 25 minutes. The peppers and onions should be soft and caramelized.
• While the onions and peppers are cooking, slice the sausage links into 1 inch pieces and cook over medium-high heat, until well browned on all sides. When the sausage is almost completely cooked through, transfer it to the pan with the peppers and onions, including most of the sausage fat that has rendered in the pan (try to reserve about a tablespoon in the pan), toss well and reduce the heat to keep warm while frying the polenta slices.
• In the saute pan that the sausage was cooked in, fry the polenta slices on medium-high heat until lightly golden and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per side. If there isn't enough sausage fat to fry all of the slices use olive oil to finish frying.
• Serve the sausage and peppers over the polenta slices.