Soft Polenta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

SUBMITTED BY: jen PHOTO BY: anewshootingstar

"Polenta should be served soft from the pot, or chilled and then pan-fried. Wild mushrooms, cheese, fresh herbs, and olives are good additions to this grain. If you can get a hold of it, try ricotta salata in place of the Parmesan cheese. If you don't want to use quinoa, you can simply use an equivalent amount of cornmeal in its place."

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 4 servings

USMETRIC

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INGREDIENTS

1 quart water
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups minced onion
1 large portobello mushroom, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups chopped green onions
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

READ REVIEWS (12)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl whisk together 2 cups water with the cornmeal, quinoa and salt. Bring the remaining 2 cups water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir the cornmeal mixture into the boiling water, and continue stirring. Be careful! The polenta may spit and sputter and the hot bits of polenta can burn. Turn the heat to very low and cook the polenta for 40 minutes; stirring with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes.
Make the tomato sauce while the polenta cooks: Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onions. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until they have softened. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and the garlic, saute for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, sherry, chili flakes and oregano. When the sauce comes to a boil turn the heat to low. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
When the polenta has cooked for 40 minutes sprinkle the green onions and grated cheese into the polenta. Stir well. Mound the polenta on plates, make a well in the center of each mound and ladle in the tomato sauce. Garnish with the shaved cheese.

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REVIEWS

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Reviewed on Jan. 26, 2003 by STACEYALISHA

This turned out to be a wonderful Valentines Day dinner for two. The sauce was wonderful -- we added more mushrooms and left out the green onions and enjoyed it immensely! We actually simmered the sauce for about three hours and thought it really helped the flavor intensify. For the polenta, we used only cornmeal and it turned out wonderfully.

8 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jan. 22, 2003 by Brenda

This was sooo gooood! However, I didn't put as many green onions in the polenta - I just put in one bunch, and I didn't use the quinoa. The tomato sauce was excellent. Thanks, Jen!

5 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jan. 15, 2006 by Jen & Patrick

My husband and I LOVED this recipe! It was so good and it was our first polenta recipe. The only differences I made were that I used regular mushrooms rather than portabella (as they are not my favorite) and I added more red pepper flakes as we like things spicy! This was SO GOOD - just loved the parm and the green onions in the polenta - I thought it was a wonderful addition. Thanks!

4 users found this review helpful

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