Polenta Cakes With Fresh Salsa Recipes

POLENTA CAKES WITH FRESH SALSA

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Stir in serrano pepper, garlic and pepper. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon for 12-17 minutes or until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan. Stir in cheese., Spread into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Cool slightly; cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours., For salsa, in a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, asparagus, green onions, cilantro, serrano pepper, salt and pepper; set aside., Cut polenta into eight pieces. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Serve with salsa; garnish with cheese if desired.

POLENTA CAKES WITH QUICK SAUSAGE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the polenta cakes: 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 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 wrap 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!)
• For the sauce: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place the sausage in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
• In a food processor, puree the onions, fennel, celery, and garlic until it becomes a coarse paste. Season with salt and give a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.
• When the sausage is roasted, remove it from the oven and coarsely chop.
• Coat a wide, deep pot with olive oil and add the pureed veggies. Cook the veggies until they start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Toss in the chopped sausage and the tomato puree. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.
• 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 the Parmigiano.
• Transfer a few polenta cakes to a plate and top with the sausage sauce. Sprinkle with more grated Parmigiano.
• Place the pork shoulder in a bowl and keep cold until ready to use. Fill a large bowl with ice and place the bowl with the pork shoulder on top.
• Season the pork with garlic, salt, fennel seed, crushed red pepper, and coriander. Mix to combine well.
• Grind the pork shoulder twice through a grinding disk with large holes. Grind the meat into the bowl sitting on ice.
• Cook a small amount of the meat mixture to test for seasoning. Add more spices and salt, if needed. Thoroughly mix in a splash of cold water. Allow the seasoned pork to chill on ice or in the fridge before stuffing into the casing.
• Replace the grinder attachment with the horn. (Be sure to thoroughly clean the attachment area before proceeding.) Rub oil onto the horn, and then put the casing on, leaving a few inches of slack at the end.
• Stuff the casing, tie off the ends, and prick the sausage with a pin or the tip of a knife.
• Refrigerate the sausage until ready to cook.

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!!!!

POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• Bring water or broth to a boil and add cornmeal and salt. Reduce heat to low and stir for 5 mintues. Add 1/4 cup of cheese and stir until melted and well combined. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper to line a 9x13" baking pan, allowing for enough parchment paper to come up over the edge to make it easy to lift polenta cake once cooled. Refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.
• Gently remove polenta from baking pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into desired shapes using a sharp knife or bisucuit cutter.
• Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick saute pan. Working in batchs of 3-4 at a time, saute each cake for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
• Remove from pan using a slotted spatula and plate on a serving dish or single plate. Top with remaining cheese, rosemary, salt and papper.

ROAST PEPPER POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• Slice the peppers and remove the seeds. Grill until cooked and peel off the skin. Chop the pepper into a small dice.
• Bring the milk to a simmer in a small pan.
• Add the polenta and garlic and stir until thickened, once thick add the cheese and stir.
• Remove pan from the heat and cool a little before adding the diced pepper and basil and mixing.
• Divide the mix into eight and form into patties.
• Fry in the olive oil for 3 mins each side.

SWEET OR SAVORY POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking dish with some of the melted butter.
• Combine polenta, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Whisk milk, eggs, and remaining melted butter together in a second bowl. Add flour mixture and briefly stir batter until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

JALAPENO-JACK POLENTA CAKES WITH CILANTRO CORN SALSA

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Slowly add the cornmeal while stirring constantly (important to avoid lumps).
• Reduce heat to simmer and continue to stir the mixture for 20 minutes or until the polenta is thick enough to hold a wooden spoon upright.
• Add jalepeno, cheese, salt and pepper to polenta and stir well to combine.
• Pour polenta in an oiled dish or pan and refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour but this will vary).
• While polenta cools, prepare salsa by combining all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper if desired.
• Remove cooled polenta from fridge and turn out onto cutting board.
• Cut into 8 servings and place on an oiled baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray or lighlty brush with oil.
• Place polenta in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
• Place 2 servings on each plate and top with salsa.

POLENTA CAKE WITH ORANGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour.
• Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat eggs in a separate bowl until light and foamy and mix into the butter-sugar mixture.
• Sift flour, polenta, and baking powder together. Fold into the batter. Stir in rum, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon zest, and orange zest. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan and level with a spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cover top with aluminum foil if it starts browning too quickly.
• Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Remove carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely.
• Stir orange juice and orange marmalade together in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until it has reduced to a thick sauce, 5 to 10 minutes. Slice cake and drizzle with orange sauce.

POLENTA WITH FRESH TOMATO SALSA

Steps:

• Bring water to boil in large saucepan. Stir in garlic. Gradually add cereal; cook 1 to 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Spread into greased 8-inch square pan; cover.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into 4 (4-inch) squares; cut each square diagonally into quarters to form 4 triangles. (You should have a total of 16 triangles.)
• Heat 2 tsp. of the oil in large nonstick skillet. Add 8 of the polenta triangles; cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 tsp. oil and polenta triangles. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand until melted.
• Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients. Serve over polenta.

GRIDDLED POLENTA WITH CORN & GREEN SALSA

Steps:

• Bring 1.5 litres of water to the boil in a large saucepan. While stirring the water constantly with a wooden spoon, tip in the polenta in a steady stream. Lower the heat so the polenta isn't spluttering too much, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins. Meanwhile, line a 40 x 30cm tray with baking parchment. Stir the corn, chilli and grated cheese into the polenta with 2 tsp salt, then spoon out onto the tray. Spread to a rough rectangle, making sure the polenta is packed tightly and there are no gaps. Cover with another sheet of baking parchment and a flat baking tray, then top with some cans or jars to press and flatten the polenta while you chill it in the fridge for at least 2 hrs, or up to a day.
• Before barbecuing, mix together the avocado, cucumber, spring onions, coriander, lime and 2 tbsp oil with seasoning.
• Heat the barbecue (or a griddle pan), trim the edges off the set polenta to neaten, then slice into 12 wedges. Brush both sides of each wedge with a little of the remaining oil and barbecue or griddle for 5 mins on each side until charred and hot through. Serve a couple of wedges per person, topped with a generous spoon of the chunky green salsa.