Cheesy Polenta Recipes

CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan heat oil and butter. Add garlic and saute just until golden. Add stock, half and half and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Add cornmeal slowly, stirring continuously. Reduce heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes while stirring regularly. Mixture will become creamy and thick.
• Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cheeses and serve immediately

CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy pot. Add the salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the cheese, milk, butter, and parsley. Stir until the butter and cheese have melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the polenta to a bowl and serve.

CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium-high heat, bring milk, water, and salt to a boil. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook 20 minutes, until creamy, lifting the lid and stirring every 3 or 4 minutes to prevent sticking. Remove pot from stove, stir in pepper and butter. Gradually stir in cheese. Serve.

CHEESY POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 8x8-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in green pepper, garlic, and green onions; cook until the pepper softens, about 3 minutes. Pour in marinara sauce and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Mix together fontina and provolone in a bowl. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange 1/3 of the polenta slices in the dish, top with 1/3 the fontina and provolone mixture. Spread a thin layer of sauce over cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top casserole with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 25 minutes.

SOFT, CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Combine broth and salt, and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in polenta, changing to a wooden spoon as the mixture thickens, and cook 5 minutes.
• Stir in butter and cheese, and season with pepper.

CHEESY BAKED POLENTA IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut out a piece of parchment paper about 16-by-12 inches/40-by-30 centimeters in size and lay onto a clean work surface.
• Prepare the polenta: Add the milk, garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper to a medium saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and slowly pour in the polenta, whisking continuously, until completely incorporated and there are no lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring all the while with a spatula. When cooked, the mixture should pull away from the sides of the pan and be quite thick.
• Add the Parmesan, stirring for another 30 seconds to melt. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the parchment paper. Use your hands to quickly shape the polenta into a large cylindrical shape, about 13-inches/32-centimeters long. Use the parchment paper to help you tighten the cylinder and then gently roll the whole thing in the paper, tightening as you go, then twisting in opposite directions at both ends. Refrigerate to set for about 1 hour, or longer if time allows.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Add the olive oil to a large, ovenproof cast-iron pan that is roughly 11-inches/28-centimeters wide, and heat over medium-high. Once hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes, or until softened and lightly colored.
• Stir in the garlic, red-pepper flakes and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, sugar, a scant 1/2 cup/100 milliliters water, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Set aside until needed.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
• Gently unwrap the chilled polenta and transfer to a cutting board. Trim about 1 inch/2 to 3 centimeters off the ends and then cut the polenta into 24 (1-centimeter-thick) slices.
• Top the tomato sauce evenly with the sliced fontina, then fan out the polenta slices, overlapping slightly, so that they're spiraled to cover the top, leaving a 1-centimeter gap from the edge of the pan. Drizzle the polenta with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until polenta is golden in places and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes to settle.
• While the polenta cools, in a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients. Sprinkle a handful of the topping over the polenta and serve the remaining in a bowl alongside. Serve warm.

CHEESY POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE RAGOUT

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium-high heat and cook the onion and garlic for a few mins. Stir in the sausages, breaking them up into small pieces as you go, and cook for another 8-9 mins. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, stock, purée and most of the rosemary. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 8-10 mins or until the mixture is thickened. Season to taste.
• Meanwhile, make up the polenta following pack instructions. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, with some seasoning. Spoon the polenta onto 4 plates, then top with the ragout and a sprinkling of the remaining rosemary.

CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• In a pot, combine milk, broth, salt and cornmeal. Place over medium-high heat and whisk constantly until liquid is boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes until creamy, stirring every 3-4 minutes to prevent sticking and burning.
• Remove from heat. Stir in pepper, butter, cheeses and optional herbs.

ROSEMARY BEEF ROAST OVER CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Mix rosemary, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper; rub over meat. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown meat. Transfer meat a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker. Add broth to skillet; cook 1 minute, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Pour over meat. Cook, covered, on low until meat is tender, 7-9 hours., For polenta, in a large heavy saucepan, bring water, milk and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from sides of pan, 15-20 minutes. (Mixture will be very thick.) Remove from heat; stir in Parmesan cheese and butter. Serve with roast. If desired, serve with additional rosemary and Parmesan cheese.

CHEESY BREAKFAST EGG AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside.
• Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and salt, and cook, stirring constantly until the polenta bubbles and pulls away from the pan, about 3 minutes. Vigorously stir in the milk, butter and cheese until smooth and creamy. (It will seem loose.)
• Spread the polenta onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with meat, greens or anything else you desire. Use the back of a large spoon to create 8 small wells in the polenta. Crack the eggs inside, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how set you like your eggs. Let stand for 5 minutes; sprinkle with black pepper and basil and serve warm.

CRUNCHY CHEESY OVEN-BAKED POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 17x12-inch half-sheet pan with cooking spray.
• In 1 1/2-quart saucepan, cook oil, butter and garlic over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until garlic is transparent (do not let garlic burn). Add whipping cream; heat to a slight simmer. Stir in Gorgonzola cheese until melted. Stir in pecorino-Romano cheese. Remove from heat.
• Cut polenta into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in pan. Ladle cheese sauce evenly over polenta; sprinkle with pepper. Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over top.
• Bake uncovered about 15 minutes.
• Set oven control to broil. Broil 2 to 3 minutes or until top is golden brown. Garnish with basil. Serve warm.