Fennel Polenta Recipes

POLENTA POPOVERS WITH LEMON BUTTER

Steps:

• For the lemon butter: In a medium bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the butter, mascarpone, lemon zest and salt. Set aside.
• For the popovers: Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Once preheated, place a 12-cup muffin tin on the lower rack for at least 10 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt and fennel seed. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk, eggs and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Starting with the wet ingredients in the center, whisk together to combine. Whisk until smooth. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes to allow the cornmeal to soften.
• Remove the muffin tin from the oven, brush the cups with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and divide the batter among the cups, filling them three-quarters of the way. Return to the oven and bake until puffed and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately with the lemon butter.

GRILLED SALMON AND POLENTA WITH FENNEL SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk the lemon juice and mustard in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until smooth. Add the tomatoes and sliced fennel and toss. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Preheat a grill to medium high and brush the grates with olive oil. Season the salmon on both sides with the ground fennel, salt and pepper. Brush the polenta rounds with olive oil. Grill the salmon and polenta until well marked and the salmon is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile, grill the lemon halves cut-side down until marked, about 3 minutes.
• Add the fennel fronds and basil to the fennel salad; toss. Serve the salmon with the polenta, fennel salad and grilled lemons.

SHRIMP WITH HOT FENNEL SAUSAGE AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Make the polenta: Bring 8 cups salted water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Whisk in polenta, continuing to whisk as mixture begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Turn heat to low and let polenta cook slowly, whisking every few minutes for about 10 minutes. Turn heat to very low and continue to cook for least 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. If polenta gets too thick to stir easily, add a bit of water to obtain a porridge-like consistency. (When finished, there should be no raw cornmeal flavor.) Taste a cooled spoonful, then correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Turn off heat, whisk in butter and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Heat olive oil in a large, wide skillet over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add shrimp in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, until lightly browned. Using tongs, turn shrimp over, season and cook for 30 seconds more. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. (Shrimp will not be fully cooked.)
• Add onion to pan and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sausage meat and cook, mashing with a large spoon to let sausage crumble into rough half-inch pieces. Continue cooking for 5 to 6 minutes, until mixture is lightly browned. Stir in garlic, red-pepper flakes and rosemary, and cook for 1 minute more.
• Add wine and tomato purée. Simmer for 1 minute and stir in crème fraîche. Turn off heat and check seasoning. Warm a large serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together scallions, capers, parsley and lemon zest.
• To finish, turn heat to high. Add reserved shrimp to sausage mixture and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly.
• Mound polenta into middle of platter. Spoon shrimp and sauce around polenta. Sprinkle with scallion mixture and serve. (Alternatively, place a large spoonful of polenta into individual plates or soup bowls and top with shrimp and sauce.)

CREAMY ROASTED MUSHROOM FENNEL POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil.
• Slowly pour in polenta, whisking constantly to prevent clumping.
• Reduce heat to a simmer. Use a wooden spoon to stir almost constantly. Add more broth as needed if mixture becomes too dried out. Refer to polenta packaging for cook times.
• Once polenta is cooked and creamy, add cheese, butter, salt and pepper.
• Clean mushrooms with a small brush or damp paper towel - no not rinse off.
• Cut off stems from mushrooms. Slice mushrooms into 1/4 inch thick pieces.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook shallot and fennel, until lightly browned, abut 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about another minute. Place in bowl and set aside.
• In same pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add about half the mushrooms to pan in a single layer. Season generously with salt and pepper. Saut? mushrooms until they begin to caramelize and crisp up, 3-5 minutes. Pour into bowl with fennel and set aside. Repeat with remaining mushrooms.
• Place mushrooms and fennel mixture back in pan and add wine to pan. Use wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off bottom of pan. Once wine has mostly absorbed, add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add butter and whisk quickly to combine liquids.
• Move polenta to a serving dish. Spoon mushrooms evenly on top of polenta, then tears of fresh basil and grate fresh Pecorino Romano cheese on top. Serve immediately or place in oven to keep warm.

FENNEL POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the fennel bulbs and water in a roasting pan on the lowest rack of the oven, roast about one hour, until very tender. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Chop coarsely, place in a food processor with two tablespoons of the milk and process until smooth. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk, the stock, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to allow the spoon to stand up in it, about 15 minutes. Stir in the fennel puree, the chopped fennel greens and the butter. Adjust seasonings.
• Line a baking pan 9 by 13 inches with parchment paper. Spread the polenta in the pan, smooth the surface and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for four hours, until firm.
• Cut the polenta into three-inch squares. Invert the pan to unmold them, then refrigerate them until ready to cook. Reheat the polenta by sauteing it in butter in a nonstick skillet or brushing it with butter or oil and grilling or broiling the squares until they are lightly browned and heated through. Keep in a warm oven until all the squares are browned, then serve.

POLENTA WITH FENNEL, PEPPERS, TOMATOES AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Wash and trim the top branches and the bottom from the fennel. Slice the fennel bulb very thinly into rounds, and then slice the rounds into julienne strips.
• Heat a medium-large nonstick skillet until it is very hot; add oil, reduce heat and stir in the fennel, cooking until fennel begins to brown and soften.
• Wash, trim, seed and thinly slice the peppers, and cut slices into small pieces; add to fennel, and continue to saute over medium heat.
• Wash, trim and cut up tomatoes; add to vegetables when peppers have begun to soften.
• Pit and cut up olives, and add. Cover the pot; reduce heat to simmer, and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender.
• In covered pot, boil stock.
• Grate cheese.
• Slowly stir polenta into boiling stock, reduce heat to medium-high and cook until mixture thickens, just a couple of minutes.
• When polenta is cooked, stir in the cheese, season with salt and pepper, and top with the vegetables.