Polenta Pasticciata Con Salsa Di Funghi Baked Polenta Casserole With Creamy Mushroom Sauce And Fontina Recipes

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.

POLENTA AND SALSA BEEF

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add cornmeal and saute, stirring constantly, for a minute so all grains are coated with oil. Add the broth and bring liquid to a boil whisking all the while. When this comes to a boil it will bubble up. Quickly put a lid on and turn heat down to very low; cook until no longer tastes raw, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile heat 2 tab oil in large skillet. Add peppers, cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover skillet, crumble in ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add salsa and cook uncovered for 5 minutes until thick. Adjust seasoning.
• To serve ladle cornmeal in bowl; spoon beef and salsa sauce over top and sprinkle with cilantro and grated aged Jack cheese.

POLENTA PASTICCIATA #RAGU

Steps:

• Ragu Recipe Contest Entry.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan. Also fold a piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to catch any leaks as the dish cooks in the oven.
• In a large pot, bring water and salt to a boil over high heat. Once water is boiling, slowly whisk in corn grits.
• Reduce heat to simmer and stir frequently, to keep corn grits from sticking to the pot, until mixture is very thick.
• Stir the butter into the cooked polenta. Set pan aside, but cover the surface of the polenta with a piece of plastic wrap to keep the polenta from forming a skin on the top.
• In a large skillet, break up the Italian sausage and cook until it is browned and cooked through.
• Add the jar of Ragu to the sausage, stir to combine and cook just until it is heated through. Remove from heat and set pan aside.
• Pour half of the polenta into the springform pan and spread it evenly in the pan.
• Slice the log of goat cheese into equally thick slices (about 20) and arrange half of the goat cheese evenly over the top of the polenta.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese over the goat cheese and polenta.
• Spread the arugula evenly over top of the cheese.
• Pour half of the sausage and Ragu mixture over top of the arugula and spread it evenly across the whole pan.
• Pour remaining polenta over top of the meat sauce and spread evenly in the pan.
• Spoon the rest of the sausage and Ragu mixture on top of the layer of polenta and spread it into an even layer.
• Arrange the remaining goat cheese evenly on top of the meat sauce.
• Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese evenly over top of the pasticciata.
• Place the foil lined springform pan onto a baking sheet and slide into the oven to bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven when cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
• Let the pasticciata rest for 20 minutes before removing the outer ring and serving. This will allow it to cool a bit and will stay together once the outer ring has been removed.

ITALIAN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage and ground beef on medium-high 5 to 6 minutes or until browned, stirring and breaking up meat with side of spoon. With slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to medium bowl.
• To same Dutch oven, add onion; cook on medium 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with their puree; heat to boiling on high, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add eggplant and meat; cover and cook 5 minutes on medium. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer or until eggplant is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In microwave-safe 4-quart bowl, with wire whisk, combine water, broth, cornmeal, and salt. Microwave on High 15 to 20 minutes or until cornmeal mixture is very thick. After first 5 minutes of cooking, whisk vigorously until smooth (mixture will be lumpy at first); whisk 2 more times during remaining cooking time. Remove from microwave, whisk in Romano.
• Spoon 2 cups hot polenta into each of two 1 1/2-quart shallow casseroles. Spread polenta over bottom and up sides of casseroles. Spoon filling over polenta. Spread remaining polenta around casserole edge to form a rim. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons additional grated Romano, Parmesan, or Asiago.
• Bake one casserole 30 minutes or until hot. Let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. (Freeze the other one for later.).
• Makes 8 servings (in 2 casserole dishes).
• Note: if you want to lower the fat content, use turkey Italian sausage. Make sure to use quality sausage - I've used my favorite, our freshly made Merguez, and good sausage really makes a difference.

POLENTA PASTICCIATA: BAKED POLENTA LAYERED WITH LONG-COOKED SAUCES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400° and set a rack in the center.
• Put plastic wrap on fresh polenta to keep it hot and to prevent a skin from forming on top. Be sure to assemble the pasticciata within 1/2 hour, while the polenta is still warm and soft with no lumps.
• If necessary, heat the filling sauce to quite warm. If it is too dense for spreading, thin it with some water. If you're extending the filling sauce with simple tomato or marinara sauce, warm them up together.
• Butter the bottom and sides of the baking dish or skillet thoroughly. Use more butter on the bottom in particular, if you want to unmold the pasticciata.
• Put 1/4 cup besciamella in the dish or skillet and spread it around the bottom; it doesn't have to cover every bit.
• Pour in half the polenta (approximately 5 cups) and spread it evenly in the bottom of the pan. Scatter 1/3 cup or more shredded Muenster or other soft cheese all over the top, then sprinkle on 2 to 4 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. Pour or ladle 2 cups of the warm sauce over the polenta and cheese, and spread it all over-use 3 cups sauce if you want a thicker layer.
• Pour on a bit more than half of the remaining polenta (about 3 cups) and spread it. Spread another 1/4 cup of besciamella on top, top with shredded soft cheese and grated hard cheese in the amounts you like. Pour in the remaining sauce and spread it evenly, reserving a cup, if you have enough and plan to unmold the pasticciata.
• For the top layer, spread all the rest of the polenta and another 1/4 cup besciamella on top of that. Sprinkle on more shredded soft cheese and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. If you're making a thin pasticciata in a big pan, or want it to have a beautiful deep gold gratinato, use enough besciamella and cheese to really cover the top. Do not compress the cheeses, though. See do-ahead note below.
• Set the pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or more, until the top is deeply colored and crusted, even browned a bit on the edges. Let the pasticciata cool for a few minutes before serving. If you are serving portions from the baking pan, cut in squares like lasagna, or wedges if you've used a round skillet or pan, and lift them out with a spatula.
• To unmold the pasticiatta, let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan, cutting through crust sticking to the rim or sides. Lay a cutting board, big enough to cover it, on top of the baking pan or skillet, hold the two together (with the protection of cloths and the help of other hands if necessary), and flip them over. Rap on the upturned pan bottom-or bang on it all over-to loosen the bottom. Lift the board, and give the pan a good shake. The pasticciata will drop out soon, with sufficient encouragement. Serve it on the board, or reflip it onto a serving platter and serve with a cup or more of warm sauce heaped on the top or served on the side.
• If you want to prepare the pasticciata and bake later the same or next day, spread the last layer of polenta and coat it well with besciamella but don't sprinkle on the final layer of cheeses. Cover it lightly and leave it at room temperature, or wrap well and refrigerate overnight. Before baking, sprinkle on the cheeses and make a tent of foil (see page 203) over the baking dish, without touching the cheese. Poke a few small holes in the foil to vent steam. Set the pan on a sheet and bake for 1/2 hour at 400°, remove the foil, and continue to bake until deeply colored and crusted.
• *You can serve this with or without freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; it will be richer with, but just as good without.
• †Good alternatives are dry-packed mozzarella, Italian Fontina, cheddar, or other cheeses of your liking.
• All of the sauces that I recommend for layering in a pasticciata are delicious just ladled on top of hot polenta. You'll need 1/3 to 1/2 cup of hot sauce for each serving of Basic Polenta (finished with freshly grated cheese) or any of the Simple Variations that follow (page 216). Put the polenta in warm serving bowls, sprinkle over more Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano-it melts best under the sauce-then spoon the sauce on top.
• Hearty sauces like mushroom ragù or savoy cabbage and bacon are particularly delicious with polenta taragna, a coarse grind of whole-grain cornmeal and buckwheat. Prepare taragna exactly as you do yellow polenta, but give it an extra 10 to 15 minutes of cooking and more water as needed.