We love polenta - out in restaurants. But with the exception of an occasional sprinkle thrown into our tart crusts, polenta wasn't something we cooked at home. That changed this weekend.
Recipe Review: Polenta with Andouille and Broccoli Rabe
We mentioned on Friday that we were planning on cooking this recipe from Epicurious: Chinese Broccoli With Sausage And Polenta. We made this on Saturday and we and our dinner companion were quite enraptured.
It's a very basic and easy one-bowl meal, though, and we were surprised at how quickly it came together. You just cook polenta, stirring occasionally, then fry up some smoked, spicy sausage and some bitter greens and pile them on top of the deliciously creamy polenta.
Here's our review of the recipe - we did change a couple things.
• We left all the cream out of the polenta. The recipe calls for half a cup. We just put in a small lump of butter and then a cup of grated Emmenthaler cheese at the end - forgoing the more traditional Parmesan. So the polenta was creamy and cheesy, but not too rich. We also included a cup of chicken broth in the polenta cooking liquid.
• We bought really amazing home-smoked andouille from our butcher and were reminded again that a little meat goes a long way. We had two small sausages and only ate one, with plenty left over. The sausage gave its flavor to everything.
• The greens were a little limp and pallid for our liking. Next time we probably will blanch them for a much shorter period of time or just sauté them without boiling first. We like the mustard snap of the broccoli rabe and it seemed like it was lacking here.
Between this recipe - which will certainly go in the easy-dinner rotation - and Jamie Oliver's proper polenta party we are thinking polenta for spring. It's delicious and not too heavy - a perfect bed for spring vegetables.
(Image: Faith Hopler)
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I'm glad to receive this update. I've got the ingredients to make this tonight, and was planning to omit the cream as well. I also was too lazy to go to two stores to find broccoli rabe, so I've just got regular, and I'll miss the bitterness. Oh well, next time.
view brittanykate's profile
brittanykate, I forgot to mention that I also left a cup of un-cheesy polenta out and drizzled in a little honey and balsamic vinegar, then topped with walnuts that were toasted and glazed in honey. Polenta for dinner AND dessert - it was lovely!
view faith's profile
I have done something similar, except a vegetarian version, with eggplant and mushrooms and spinach. Polenta is a great base for a lot of different vegetables.
view Susmita's profile
Faith, that sounds amazing. I may make extra and save some out for breakfast.
view brittanykate's profile
Polenta is an excellent foil for almost anything, in my experience. And it cooks up in a snap (no stirring!) in my pressure cooker. I love polenta!
view eat more lemons's profile
Eat more lemons, could you please give a little more detail on the pressure cooker polenta? I'd definitely like to try it this way.
My current method is whisking with milk and seasoning, them simmering with the occasional stir. I tried a few other ways from various respected Italian cookbooks and never liked how it came out. This one was from a Daniel Boulud recipe and it works like a dream.
view renata's profile
of course, renata!
I use Lorna Sass's Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure for reference, and just discovered that I don't know where it is at the moment (eek!)
But, from memory: bring 4 cups of water or broth to a boil in the pressure cooker. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of polenta and a little salt. Put the lid on, and set the whole pot on a heated flame tamer. Bring it to high pressure, and cook for 5 minutes, remove from the heat and let the pressure come down on its own. After taking the lid off, stir and it will thicken up nice and quickly. If there are any lumps at this point (rarely) I can usually smash them with the back of a wooden spoon.
I love the pressure cooker!
view eat more lemons's profile