Pumpkin Polenta With Italian Sausage And Fennel Recipes

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 POLENTA WITH PARMESAN AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, put cornmeal in a medium saucepan along with 1 cup water and whisk well to make a slurry; continue whisking mixture to eliminate any lumps. Put pan over medium-high heat, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, whisking frequently and adding water as needed to keep mixture loose and free of lumps, between 3 and 4 more cups. If mixture becomes too thick, simply add a bit more water; consistency should be similar to sour cream's.
• Polenta will be done in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on grind. Add cheese and butter. Taste and add salt, if necessary, and lots of pepper; serve topped with sausages.

PASTA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PUMPKIN SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook and stir Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the meat is browned, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease. Stir onion and garlic into sausage and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Stir in campanelle and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes; drain.
• Stir pumpkin puree, chicken broth, half-and-half, sour cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper into the sausage mixture and cook, stirring often, until sauce is creamy and thick, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer cooked campanelle pasta to a large pot and pour sausage and pumpkin mixture over pasta. Place over medium-high heat and gently stir until pasta mixture is heated through, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

PUMPKIN POLENTA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Add 1 tablespoon of EVOO (1 turn of the pan) to the skillet and then the onion and fennel. Cook the vegetables over moderate heat until tender but not brown. Add the wine and return the sausage to the skillet. Cook the wine away, a minute or so.
• In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock and butter to a boil and stir in the pumpkin. Return to a boil, whisk in the polenta and stir until it masses together, 2 minutes. (Watch out for splatters.) Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the nutmeg, thyme, salt, pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese. Top the pumpkin polenta with the sausage and fennel. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.

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!

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.