Sausage Ragù, over Polenta Cakes
Polenta is a new concept to me. I had never had it, to me Italian cooking always required pasta. I had seen a few recipes using polenta, but decided to try give this one from Cooking Light's January 2012 issue a stab. I wasn't ready to make polenta from scratch, and saw this pre-made polenta log at the store. You may want to try instant polenta for a creamier base. I also choose to use Italian pork sausage (it was on sale) but if you want to keep it on the light side, you would want to use a turkey or chicken sausage instead. Or just get rid of the meat altogether and add cannelli beans. This can be a great meal to sneak in greens like spinach or kale for added nutrients as well.
Servings: 4 Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
1.) Heat 1/2 tb of olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and saute for 3 minutes.
2.) Remove sausage from casings and add to the pan to brown the meat. If you never have removed a sausage casing before, I usually just slide my knife down the center of it and pop the meat out. Once the meat is done browning, you will want to drain any unwanted grease. The grease level was pretty light for me, so I just sort of dabbed at the meat with a paper towel.
3.) Add chicken broth, marinara, basil, and peppers to pan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4.) While the sauce is simmering, heat 1/2 tb of olive oil in a smaller pan on medium heat. Take a few of the polenta slices and cook until they become a deep gold color and can be cut with a fork. You will want to flip them a few times to make sure each side is done evenly.
Plate a few of the polenta cakes and spoon the ragù,over top. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese (or other salty white cheese, like pecorino romano) and ground pepper. Enjoy!
Servings: 4 Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tb Olive Oil, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp of Red Pepper Flakes (You may want to skip this if you are using the hot Italian sausage.
- 2 Italian Sausages (Sweet or Hot, I used one of each)
- 5-6 leaves of Fresh Basil, chopped
- 1 cup of Chicken Broth
- 1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce
- 1 cup of Sweet Mini Peppers, chopped
- Fresh ground Pepper for serving
- Parmesan Cheese for Serving
1.) Heat 1/2 tb of olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and saute for 3 minutes.
2.) Remove sausage from casings and add to the pan to brown the meat. If you never have removed a sausage casing before, I usually just slide my knife down the center of it and pop the meat out. Once the meat is done browning, you will want to drain any unwanted grease. The grease level was pretty light for me, so I just sort of dabbed at the meat with a paper towel.
4.) While the sauce is simmering, heat 1/2 tb of olive oil in a smaller pan on medium heat. Take a few of the polenta slices and cook until they become a deep gold color and can be cut with a fork. You will want to flip them a few times to make sure each side is done evenly.
Plate a few of the polenta cakes and spoon the ragù,over top. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese (or other salty white cheese, like pecorino romano) and ground pepper. Enjoy!
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