Creamy Pumpkin Polenta Recipes

CREAMY PUMPKIN POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil., Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal and nutmeg. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon for 15-20 minutes or until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan. Stir in pumpkin and cream cheese until smooth. Sprinkle each serving with pumpkin seeds if desired.

PUMPKIN POLENTA WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash with the olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer. Bake until tender and browned, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring 4 cups water, the milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the polenta. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring often, until creamy, about 6 minutes. Whisk in the pumpkin puree. Cook, whisking, until warmed through, about 4 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan, butter and sage; season with salt. Top each serving with the roasted vegetables and shaved parmesan; drizzle with olive oil.

SLOW COOKER PUMPKIN-PARMESAN POLENTA

Steps:

• In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, whisk together the polenta with 10 cups of water, then whisk in the pumpkin. Scatter in 4 tablespoons butter, cut into bits; the salt; a generous amount of pepper; the thyme sprig; 1 sprig of the sage; and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook on low for 6 hours, whisking once or twice if possible. (This can hold very well on warm for several hours.)
• Break the cream cheese into pieces and drop them into the polenta; whisk to melt the cream cheese and combine. Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg, then stir in the grated Parmesan. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
• In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Pick the leaves from the remaining sage sprigs, and when the butter is melted, drop them in. Cook the butter and the sage, swirling the pan often, until the butter solids start to turn medium-brown and smell toasty, 3 to 5 minutes. (Don't walk away; butter goes from browned to burned in seconds.) Remove the pan from the heat immediately and swirl the browned butter-sage mixture into the polenta. Serve the polenta in a large platter or shallow bowl, topped with a bit more Parmesan and more nutmeg if desired.
• In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water to boil over high heat. Add the polenta in a steady steam while whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low. (You want the polenta-water mixture to be steaming hot, but not boiling.) Continue to whisk constantly for about 3 minutes, until the polenta and water have formed a smooth mixture. Whisk in the pumpkin, 4 tablespoons butter, the salt, a generous amount of pepper, the thyme sprig, 1 sage sprig and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Once all the ingredients are combined, cover and cook for 40 minutes, whisking well every 10 minutes.
• Uncover the pot and cook for about 1 hour more, whisking every 10 minutes, until the polenta is smooth and tender, and the mixture has thickened and is creamy but not runny.
• Break the cream cheese into small pieces and drop them into the polenta; whisk to melt the cream cheese and combine. Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg and the grated Parmesan. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
• Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. Pick the leaves from the remaining sage sprigs and when the butter is melted, drop them in. Cook the butter and the sage, swirling the pan often, until the butter solids start to turn medium brown and smell toasty, 3 to 5 minutes. (Don't walk away; butter goes from browned to burned in seconds.) Remove the pan from the heat immediately and swirl the browned butter-sage mixture into the polenta. Serve the polenta in a large platter or shallow bowl, topped with a bit more Parmesan and more nutmeg if desired.

CREAMY OVEN-BAKED POLENTA WITH PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Combine water, milk, cornmeal, and salt in the prepared baking dish; mix well. It's normal for the mixture to separate a bit.
• Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and stir in pumpkin, Jarlsberg, 1/2 of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, sour cream, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and top with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Turn on the broiler.
• Broil until top is brown and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

CREAMY PUMPKIN POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring water or stock and salt to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
• Stir in pumpkin.
• SLOWLY pour in corn meal while continuously stirring.
• An easy way of doing this is to pick up handfuls of cornmeal and let it run through your fingers in a very SLOW stream. NEVER STOP STIRRING.
• If mixture gets too thick and impossible to stir, add more boiling liquid.
• Once cornmeal has been added, stir in the small pieces of cream cheese (a little at a time) until cheese is completely melted and incorporated into the mixture.
• Continue cooking and stirring for about twenty minutes.
• If you don't cook the polenta long enough, you won't achieve the proper creamy consistency.
• Continue to add additional liquid as necessary.
• The proper consistency should be that of a thick Cream Of Wheat Cereal.
• Your spoon should be able to stand straight up when stuck in the middle and the mixture should pull away from the sides of the pot.
• Serve with pat of butter and enjoy!