Polenta Chicken Recipes

POLENTA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Remove the skin from the chicken legs and divide them at the joint. Sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper.
• Brown chicken: Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom pan, a pan large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer. Place the chicken parts in the pan and brown all over. Sprinkle the paprika on top and stir well to coat the chicken parts with it. Add the chicken stock, it should cover the meat almost entirely, but the chicken should not be swimming in liquid.
• Simmer: Chop the parsley and add half of it to the pan. Add some pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover the pan leaving a crack open. Cook for about 30 minutes (turning the chicken once in between) or until the meat is cooked through.
• Polenta: Start making the polenta about now if you want to serve this immediately.
• Sauce: By the end of the cooking time, the sauce should have been reduced by half. If you want a thicker sauce, remove the lid from the pot during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time. I don't find it necessary; I like to have a runnier sauce to soak the polenta.
• Grate the garlic cloves and add them to the pan together with the rest of the chopped parsley. Cook for 1 minute, remove from heat, and season.
• To make the polenta, heat the water in a large pan but do not let it come to a boil. Add the salt, stir to dissolve. Add the polenta in a slow stream while stirring all the time.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover with a crack, and cook, often stirring, according to the packet's instructions. Mine takes about 20 minutes, but that can differ greatly depending on the polenta you bought.
• Add butter: Once the polenta is ready, stir in the butter.
• Serve as soon as the polenta is ready.

POLENTA-CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH CORNBREAD

Steps:

• If you have time, soak the chicken in the buttermilk (not regular milk) overnight. To make the cornbread, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Grease 6 holes of a muffin tin, or a special cornbread tin if you have one. Tip the dry ingredients into a bowl and separately beat the eggs with the buttermilk or yogurt. Pour over the dry ingredients and beat together to make a batter. Divide the batter between the holes and bake for 20 mins until puffed up. Remove the tin from the oven and leave to cool.
• Put a rack in a roasting tin in the oven. Tip the polenta, flour and spices into a food bag with a generous pinch of salt and some pepper. Dip the chicken into the buttermilk, add a few pieces to the bag and shake to coat in the flour mixture, then place on a plate. Heat a decent puddle of oil in a large frying pan or wok and fry the chicken in batches until golden and crispy. When all the chicken has been fried, place it on the rack and bake for 30 mins until completely cooked through. Serve with the cornbread and some coleslaw.

CRISP ITALIAN CHICKEN & POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Using your fingers, roughly break up the polenta into small chunks and scatter in the bottom of a small roasting tin. Tip in the parmesan and mix. Sit the chicken breasts, cherry tomatoes, rosemary and garlic on top of the polenta, drizzle with olive oil, then season to taste.
• Roast for 25 mins until the chicken skin is crisp and golden, and the polenta and cheese are turning crusty around the edges. Serve with a green salad.

POLENTA

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the chicken broth and the water to a boil. While whisking constantly, slowly pour the cornmeal into the hot liquid. Stir in the salt. Lower the heat to cook the mixture at a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cornmeal is creamy and not grainy, about 30 minutes. Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the cheese and the butter. Serve.
• In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the chicken broth and the water to a boil. While whisking constantly, slowly pour the cornmeal into the hot liquid. Stir in the salt. Lower the heat to cook the mixture at a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cornmeal is creamy and not grainy, about 30 minutes. Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the cheese and the butter. Serve.