Warm Polenta And Oxtail Cakes On Fennel Salad Food

HARD POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• 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 chopped 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 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!)
• When ready to use, 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 a little bit grated Parmigiano. Transfer to a serving platter and serve while hot.
• What a corncake!!!!

AROMATIC BRAISED OXTAIL WITH PRESERVED LEMON POLENTA

Steps:

• Mix flour, chile, salt and pepper and coat oxtails well. In a hot stock pot, coat bottom with oil and sear oxtails until all sides are browned. Pull out oxtails and wipe out stock pot. Saute onions, fennel, celery, carrots, garlic, ginger and lemon grass. Deglaze with wine and reduce. Add tomatoes, soy, thyme and bay. Add water to completely cover meat. Check for seasoning: the broth should taste well seasoned. Bring to boil then simmer on low heat for 3 hours. The meat should fall off of the bone. Remove oxtails and reduce sauce by 20 percent. Using a hand blender, puree sauce. Check for seasoning. Serve on top of polenta.
• PRESERVED LEMON POLENTA: In a saucepan, saute shallots and ginger in 1 tablespoon of butter. Add polenta, lemons, stock, salt, pepper and butter. Check for seasoning. Stir well and cover tightly. Bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hour. A crust will form. Break through crust for polenta.

FENNEL POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the fennel bulbs and water in a roasting pan on the lowest rack of the oven, roast about one hour, until very tender. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Chop coarsely, place in a food processor with two tablespoons of the milk and process until smooth. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk, the stock, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to allow the spoon to stand up in it, about 15 minutes. Stir in the fennel puree, the chopped fennel greens and the butter. Adjust seasonings.
• Line a baking pan 9 by 13 inches with parchment paper. Spread the polenta in the pan, smooth the surface and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for four hours, until firm.
• Cut the polenta into three-inch squares. Invert the pan to unmold them, then refrigerate them until ready to cook. Reheat the polenta by sauteing it in butter in a nonstick skillet or brushing it with butter or oil and grilling or broiling the squares until they are lightly browned and heated through. Keep in a warm oven until all the squares are browned, then serve.