Italian Pork Chili With Polenta Recipes

ITALIAN PORK CHILI WITH POLENTA RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• Roast the bell pepper over a gas flame, turning with tongs, or broil until the skin is blackened. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel, seed and chop the pepper. Heat the EVOO in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and pancetta and cook until well browned. Add the ground pork, thyme, fennel seeds, garlic, chile peppers, onions, oregano and roasted red peppers and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze with the wine, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add 2 to 3 cups chicken stock and simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Bring 2 cups chicken stock and the milk to a low boil in a saucepan. Whisk in the polenta and cook, whisking, until thick but pourable, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the butter and then the cheese, stirring until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the polenta into shallow bowls and hollow out the center. Fill with the chili and top with more cheese. Garnish with parsley. Cook's Note: The chili can be covered and refrigerated for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over medium heat, and prepare the polenta before serving.

BEEF AND PORK ITALIAN CHILI

Steps:

• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add EVOO, the beef and pork; brown and crumble. Season with the chili powder, salt and pepper. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, rosemary, bay leaf and cloves and cook for 8 to 10 minutes to soften the vegetables. Add the tomato paste and stir a minute. Add the beef stock, diced tomatoes and passata or tomato sauce. Simmer to combine the flavors and thicken. Cool and store; reheat over medium heat.
• To serve, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a small saucepot, whisk in the polenta, 3 minutes. Stir in the butter, cheese, salt and pepper.
• Serve the chili with polenta alongside.

POLENTA CHILI CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large heavy saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon 15-20 minutes or until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from sides of pan. , Remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup cheddar cheese until melted., Spread into a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat chili according to package directions. , Spread vegetables over polenta; top with chili. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

SPICY PORK CHILI WITH CUMIN POLENTA

Steps:

• Make the chili: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a big, heavy, deep-sided pot set over med-high heat.
• When hot, add onion and carrots; saute, stirring, for 5 minutes.
• Add in serrano peppers; cook 1 minute.
• Remove pan from heat and spoon ingredients onto a plate; set aside; reserve pot.
• Put pork in a large ziplock plastic bag; add flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper; seal bag and shake well to coat pork with flour.
• Return pot to med-high heat and add 2-3 more tablespoons oil, or enough to coat the bottom of pan lightly.
• When hot enough, add enough floured pork cubes to fit comfortably in a single layer in pan (do not crowd); brown pork, turning, for 3-4 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to paper towels to drain; repeat with remaining pork, adding more oil as needed.
• Return all browned pork to pan and add garlic.
• Cook and toss 1 minute.
• Return reserved onion, carrots, and peppers to pan.
• Add tomatoes, lime juice, and broth.
• Bring mixture to simmer, then decrease heat.
• Simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes, then cover and cook until meat is quite tender, about 50-60 minutes.
• Taste chili and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
• **Chili can be prepared 2 days ahead; cool, cover, and refrigerate; reheat over medium heat.
• To make polenta: combine 4 cups stock and the cumin in a large, heavy saucepan set over med-high heat.
• When stock begins to boil, decrease heat and gradually (in a thin stream) whisk in cornmeal.
• Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to thicken, for 6-8 minutes or less.
• Stir in butter and milk; taste and add salt, as needed.
• **Polenta can be made up to 2 days ahead; cool, cover, and refrigerate; reheat over low heat, stirring constantly and adding additional stock, as needed, until polenta is desired texture.
• To serve--spoon a generous 1/2 cup polenta into 6 shallow soup bowls.
• Ladle pork chili over polenta and sprinkle each portion with some cilantro.
• Garnish with a lime wedge.

ITALIAN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish.
• Combine cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic, red wine, and 1/8 teaspoon salt for marinara in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to puree. Set aside.
• Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in polenta slowly, whisking constantly to ensure there are no lumps. Bring back to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Pecorino Romano cheese and butter.
• Pour half of the polenta into the prepared casserole dish. Top with half of the sliced zucchini, overlapping slices slightly. Top zucchini with half of the marinara sauce, then sprinkle with half of the Italian-style cheese. Repeat layers one more time. Cover.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until cheese on top is slightly brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

PORCINI-CRUSTED PORK WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Process mushrooms in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a shallow bowl; stir in salt and pepper. Press 1 side of each pork chop into mushroom mixture., In a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray, heat oil over medium-high heat. Place chops, mushroom side down, in skillet; cook for 2 minutes. Turn over; cook 2 minutes longer. Bake, uncovered, at 375° until at thermometer inserted in pork reads 145°, 20-25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving., Prepare polenta according to package directions for soft polenta. Stir in cheese and rosemary. Serve with pork chops.

SIMPLE CHILI WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Polenta: boil water, then stir 1 cup cornmeal into 1 cup (cold) broth.
• Add boiling water and salt, and bring to a boil. [Start cooking chili while waiting for it to boil.].
• Once it boils, lower heat and cover. Stir occasionally and cook for about ten minutes, until thick (starts clinging to the sides of the pan). Remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Serve warm.
• For chili: Brown turkey in a medium-large saucepan. If adding onions or peppers, can cook them at the same time.
• Add tomatoes (undrained), black and pinto beans, and desired seasonings. Start with a small amount of seasoning and add gradually to avoid "Oh no! It's too spicy!" for you wimps like me. :).
• Bring to a simmer and ladle polenta into bowls. Spoon chili on top; add grated cheese if desired.