Polenta Sausage Casserole Recipes

POLENTA AND SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Prepare tomato-sausage sauce: In 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook sausages until browned, stirring with spoon to break them up. With slotted spoon, remove sausages to bowl.
• In same Dutch oven in hot olive oil, cook onion, celery, and carrot until browned. Stir in sausages and tomatoes with their purée over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove cover and simmer 10 minutes longer, stirring to break up tomatoes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare polenta: In 4-quart saucepan with wire whisk, mix cornmeal, chicken broth, and salt. Over medium-high heat, gradually add 4 1/4 cups boiling water, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens (about 5 minutes); whisk in Parmesan cheese.
• Grease 13" by 9" glass baking dish. Spread half of polenta in baking dish; top with half the tomato-sausage sauce, then half the shredded cheese. Repeat with remaining polenta and sauce.
• Bake casserole, uncovered, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake about 20 minutes longer or until mixture is hot and bubbling. Let stand 15 minutes for easier serving.
• Each serving: About 445 calories, 24 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 24 g total fat (9 g saturated), 86 mg cholesterol, 1250 mg sodium. Photograph by Steven Mark Needham

SAUSAGE POLENTA BAKE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine cornmeal and salt. Gradually add boiling water, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese. , Spread polenta into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until no longer pink; drain. Add spaghetti sauce; cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. , Spread over polenta; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

SAUSAGE AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a medium skillet; saute onion, garlic, and sweet pepper until hot through. Add crumbled sausage and continue cooking just until meat changes color. Stir in mushrooms and cook until hot through. Drain excess fat and set mixture aside. Place milk or other liquid in a large,.
• heavy saucepan over moderately high heat; slowly add cornmeal, stirring briskly with a wire whisk to prevent lumping. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes, or until mixture is very thick and smooth; stir constantly to prevent scorching. Remove pan from heat and stir in herbs, cayenne pepper,.
• and ricotta and gruyere cheeses. Add sausage and sweet pepper mixture, combine well, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into two 9-inch pie plates lined with plastic wrap. Cool on a wire rack, then cover and refrigerate at least an hour, or as long as three days. When ready to serve dish, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut polenta in wedges.
• and place on an oiled shallow baking pan large enough to hold polenta in one layer without crowding. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until polenta is lightly browned and very hot when tested with a small knife in center of wedge. Serve with Fresh Tomato Sauce, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and.
• sprigs of herbs.

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.

POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a simmer and add the polenta. Cook over low heat, stirring often, 45 minutes. Stir in the butter, Parmesan and olive oil and keep warm.
• Add the tomatoes, sausage, garlic, peppers, onion and crushed red pepper to a large cast-iron pot and simmer, 30 minutes. Serve sauce over polenta, topped with some ricotta and basil.

BAKED POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Combine water and milk in a large saucepan with polenta. Bring to a boil over high heat; add Parmesan cheese and butter. Stir constantly until thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour polenta into a large, round casserole dish, filling about 1 inch deep.
• Heat olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage, mushrooms, onion, and garlic in the skillet until sausage is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, Italian seasoning, and oregano; cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
• Pour tomato sauce mixture over polenta. Top with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 20 minutes.

POLENTA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine 1 cup water and cornmeal. In a saucepan, bring salt and remaining water to a boil. Slowly stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Cool slightly. Cut sausage into 1-in. pieces; return to skillet. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and parsley; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat., Spread half of the cornmeal mixture in a serving dish; top with half of the sausage mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

BAKED POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Remove skillet from heat and stir in artichokes; season with salt and pepper.
• In a 2-quart baking dish, layer polenta rounds and spoonfuls of sausage mixture. Pour stock over top and bake until bubbling and polenta is pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and 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.

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.

POLENTA CASSEROLE WITH SAUTEED BELL PEPPERS AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the polenta in half-inch slices and cover the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Press together to make one layer.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers, onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook until the meat loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes, cook about 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes and juice; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Take off heat and stir in the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread sausage mixture evenly over the polenta and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in middle rack of oven until the polenta is heated through, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Serves 6 to 8.