Sauteed Polenta With Sweet Italian Sausage And Broccoli Rabe Recipes

BROCCOLI RABE AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into bite-size pieces, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the remaining 3 Tbs. oil, the broccoli rabe, and garlic, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, stock, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the broccoli rabe is crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Add the reserved sausage, parsley, and cheese, and season to taste with more salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring, until the polenta is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stir in the 2 Tbs. grated cheese, if using.
• Divide the polenta among 4 wide bowls. Top with generous portions of the sausage stew and more grated cheese on top.

SOFT POLENTA WITH PANCETTA AND BROCCOLI RABE

Steps:

• Make the polenta and keep it warm. Unwind the pancetta into a long strip and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch wide pieces. Heat together the pancetta and the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook slowly until well-browned and crisp. Tilt the pan to collect the fat in a little pool against the side and scrape the pancetta into the fat. Cook for another minute to make sure the pancetta is very crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Set the pancetta aside.
• There should be about 2 tablespoons fat remaining in the pan. If not, add a little olive oil. Turn the heat to medium-high and heat until hot. Add the garlic and saute briefly until light brown. Add the thyme, stir, add the stock, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by about half. Add the broccoli rabe, season with salt and pepper, toss well, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the polenta into a warm serving dish or bowl and pour the vegetables over it. Sprinkle with the reserved pancetta.
• Combine the stock and cream in a heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the polenta and semolina, and cook over very low heat, whisking regularly, until the grains are soft, about 8 minutes. Whisk in the cheeses. Serve immediately or reserve. To encourage polenta to come cleanly out of the pan, put the pan over medium heat. Run a spatula or wooden spoon around the sides of the pan to clean off the polenta. Do not stir, but wait and watch for a few seconds until a large bubble begins to form and push the polenta upward. Pour immediately into a warm dish. The polenta can be made ahead and reheated: add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water or stock, cover the dish, and reheat in the microwave or over low heat. Whisk well before serving.

SAUTEED POLENTA WITH SWEET ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND BROCCOLI RABE

Steps:

• On a lightly oiled baking sheet spread warm polenta about 3/4 thick and cool to room temperature. Polenta may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• In a large non-stick skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown sausage. Add water and cook sausage, covered, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook mixture until any remaining water is evaporated. Transfer sausage with tongs to a bowl and reserve fat remaining in skillet. Cool sausage slightly and slice diagonally.
• Cut polenta into 1 1/2-inch diamond shapes or squares. In skillet sauté polenta in 2 batches in reserved fat over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, adding additional oil to skillet if necessary, until golden on both sides. Transfer polenta as cooked with a slotted spoon to bowl with sausage and cover.
• In skillet heat remaining tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté broccoli rabe with salt to taste, stirring, until just wilted. Add garlic paste and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring, until tomato paste is incorporated and sauce is slightly thickened. Add sausage and polenta and cook until heated through.
• Serve polenta sprinkled with Parmesan.
• To make basic polenta:
• In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
• Note: In the traditional method of cooking polenta, forty minutes of constant stirring is required to achieve a lumpless texture and fragrant flavor. However, Italian-food expert Marcella Hazan has developed a method that involves very little stirring during this time. We believe it produces a very good polenta, one nearly as flavorful and smooth as the traditional procedure. To make satisfactory polenta in a real hurry, an imported instant polenta (precooked cornmeal) is available. This cooks in a mere fifteen minutes.

PENNE WITH SAUSAGE AND BROCCOLI RABE

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink, reserving 1/2 cup of the water.
• Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the sausage pieces, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the hot pan until the sausage is no longer pink on the outside, about 4 minutes. Stir in the broccoli rabe and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Pour in the reserved 1/2 cup of pasta boiling water. Cover, and cook until the sausage is no longer pink in the center and the broccoli rabe is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir the cooked pasta, broccoli rabe, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese together until evenly mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper to serve.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in broccoli. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 5-7 minutes or until broccoli is tender. , Stir in the tomatoes, pesto, pepper flakes and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. , Meanwhile, for polenta, bring broth to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Continue stirring for 10-12 minutes or until polenta is thickened and has a smooth texture. Serve with sausage mixture. Garnish with cheese if desired.

SAUSAGE AND BROCCOLI RABE WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the broccoli rabe until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.
• Rinse under cold water and drain again. Cut into 2 inch lengths.
• In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning, until browned, about 10 minutes.
• Remove. When cool enough to handle, cut into slices.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Reduce the heat to moderately low.
• Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine; bring to a simmer.
• Add the sausage, tomatoes, broth, thyme, and 1 ¼ teaspoons of the salt. Bring to a simmer.
• Cook, uncovered for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli rabe, parsley, and pepper to the sauce. Bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the water and the remaining 1 ¼ teaspoons salt to a boil. Add the cornmeal in a slow stream, whisking.
• Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until very thick. Serve with the sauce.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE, BROCCOLI AND POLENTA SHEET PAN DINNER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F.
• Toss vegetables with dressing; spread onto half of foil-covered rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Place sausages next to vegetables.
• Bake 25 min., turning sausages after 15 min.
• Push vegetables and sausages to one side of sheet pan. Place polenta slices in single layer on remaining side of pan. Bake 5 to 7 min. or until heated through, turning after 4 min.
• Top polenta with cheese; bake 4 min. or until melted. Serve with the vegetables and sausages.

POLENTA WITH BROCCOLI RABE

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Cut off and discard tough stems from rabe. Wash thoroughly and drain on paper towels. Cut into one-inch pieces.
• Heat oil in a nonstick skillet. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in rabe and coat with oil. Cook over medium heat until it begins to soften.
• Stir in raisins, pine nuts and red pepper. Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Slowly stir in polenta and stir constantly for several minutes, until mixture begins to thicken. Do not let mixture become so thick that it cannot be stirred.
• Stir in the cheese and salt. Stir in rabe and spoon into a shallow baking dish. Place under broiler for about 2 minutes, just until the top begins to brown. Watch carefully.