Broiled Polenta With Winter Tomato Sauce Recipes

BROILED POLENTA SLICES

Steps:

• Brush an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan lightly with olive oil. Pour hot soft polenta into pan; smooth top.
• Refrigerate until chilled and firm to the touch, about 3 hours (or up to 3 days, covered with plastic).
• Heat broiler. Invert polenta onto a cutting board; slice 1/2 inch thick. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Arrange slices in a single layer; brush 1 teaspoon oil over tops.
• Broil 4 inches from heat, without turning, until golden and browning in spots, 20 to 25 minutes.

GRILLED POLENTA WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE AND FRIED EGGS

Steps:

• Paint tops of polenta squares lightly with olive oil. Heat a stovetop grill or cast-iron griddle. Lay polenta top-side down and cook until nicely browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Flip and brown the other side. Keep warm.
• For the sauce, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomatoes and bay leaf and simmer briskly for 5 to 8 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add capers, olives and anchovies and cook for 2 minutes more. Season with red pepper flakes and a little more salt if necessary.
• On each plate, put 1 square of warm polenta and spoon sauce around it. For each diner, fry 1 or 2 eggs sunny-side up in olive oil, and place on top of sauce. Serve immediately.

BROILED POLENTA WITH WINTER TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• To prepare 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.
• To prepare the polenta:
• In a bowl stir together warm polenta and Fontina until smooth. Pour polenta into a lightly oiled shallow 1 1/2-quart bowl and cool. Polenta may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• To prepare sauce:
• In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion with salt to taste, stirring, until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, stirring to break up tomatoes, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Stir in parsley. Keep sauce warm.
• Preheat broiler.
• Unmold polenta onto a cutting board and cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in one layer in a lightly oiled shallow baking pan and brush slices with additional oil.
• Broil polenta about 3 inches from heat until edges are golden, about 5 minutes. Turn polenta over and broil until edges are golden, about 3 minutes more.
• Arrange polenta on a platter and spoon sauce over it. Serve polenta with Parmesan.
• 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.

POLENTA WITH PARMESAN AND TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, water and salt in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir together, and place in the oven. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the butter and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and stir again. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir in the Parmesan, if using. Spoon onto plates, make a depression in the middle and spoon 1/4 heaped cup of simple tomato sauce into the depression. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

TOMATO AND GRILLED POLENTA STACKS WITH BASIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make polenta:
• Whisk together water, cornmeal, and salt in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spread polenta into a 10- by 5-inch rectangle on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Prepare grill for cooking.
• Drain tomatoes while polenta is chilling:
• Cut 4 (1/4-inch-thick) crosswise slices from middle of each tomato. Sandwich slices between triple thicknesses of paper towel and press gently to absorb excess moisture.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Grill polenta:
• Cut out 8 (2 1/2-inch) rounds from polenta with cookie cutter. When fire is medium-hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds), grill polenta rounds in a grill basket until crusty, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet.
• Assemble and bake stacks:
• Season tomato slices with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cheese. Assemble 4 stacks by placing a tomato slice on top of each of 4 polenta rounds (use a spatula to transfer tomato slices), then top each with another polenta round and tomato slice.
• Bake in middle of oven until hot and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
• Make sauce while stacks bake:
• Purée basil, water, garlic, lemon juice, oil, and sugar in a blender, scraping down sides frequently, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve stacks with basil sauce.