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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes » Chicken

    Fried Polenta with Sausage Vegetable Stew

    Published by Melissa on August 14, 2012 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 22 Comments

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    Smooth, creamy polenta fried to a crispy golden brown then served topped with a hearty sausage and vegetable stew.

    Rachael from pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

    Fried-Polenta-Spicy-Sausage-Stew-Collage-Barbara-Bakes

    One of the recipes Rachael posted was a delicious Polenta with Italian Sausage, Kale, Tomatoes and Crispy Potatoes recipe from Daily Unadventures in Cooking. I’ve had polenta in restaurants but I’ve never made it a home. So this challenge was just the push I needed to give it a try at home.

    I decided instead of serving the stew over creamy polenta, my family would like crispy fried polenta better. I was right. My daughter said the crispy crust on the polenta was her favorite part. Maybe next time I’ll make it in a 9×13 pan so the pieces are thinner but bigger and crispier.

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    Fried Polenta with Sausage Vegetable Stew

    Course: Chicken
    Servings: 4 servings
    Author: Barbara Schieving
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    Ingredients

    Stew

    • 1 pound chicken sausage
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
    • 1 large onion diced
    • ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • 4 cups baby spinach
    • 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
    • 1 cup frozen or fresh corn
    • salt and freshly ground pepper
    • 2 large potatoes parboiled and diced
    • Fresh parsley for garnish

    Polenta

    • 4 ½ cups water
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup instant polenta*
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 1 cup parmesan finely grated
    • Olive Oil for frying

    Instructions

    • Polenta
    • Lightly grease a 9x9 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
    • In a large saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil over high heat. Slowly pour polenta in to water whisking constantly until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan.
    • Pour polenta into greased baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour until polenta is firm.
    • Remove the polenta from the refrigerator and cut into triangles with a sharp knife.
    • In a large skillet, heat 3-4 tablespoons olive oil over high heat, until almost smoking. Fry the polenta in two batches, 4 pieces at a time, for 5 to 6 minutes per side until crispy and lightly browned. Place in 200º oven to keep warm while frying remaining pieces and cooking stew. Replenish oil before frying the next batch if necessary.
    • Stew
    • In a large skillet on medium heat, add one tablespoon of olive oil and cook chicken sausage until browned and crispy.
    • When the sausage is browned, add the onion and cook until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and the chili flakes. Cook the garlic for one minute.
    • Add the spinach and cover the skillet to wilt the spinach. Once wilted, stir in the tomatoes and corn and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    • In a separate skillet, fry the parboiled diced potato in remaining olive oil until crispy on all sides.
    • Serve the fried polenta topped with the sausage stew and the crispy potatoes. Garnish with parsley if desired.

    Notes

    *I used a 9.2 oz package of Delallo Insant Polenta
    Adapted from Daily Unadventures in Cooking

    Thanks Rachael for the fun challenge. Visit the Daring Kitchen to see all the delicous cornmeal recipes the Daring Cooks cooked up this month.

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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. October

      September 30, 2020 at 1:08 am

      I just love your recipes. Everything always comes out delicious and perfect. Your recipes make me feel like a master in the kitchen. Could you ever so kindly do a dessert made from polenta? 

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        September 30, 2020 at 6:19 am

        Thanks October – that’s so nice to hear! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a dessert made with polenta. Have you had a great polenta dessert?

        Reply
    2. Melissa Thomas

      April 22, 2019 at 5:28 pm

      Made this today, delicious.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        April 22, 2019 at 8:21 pm

        Great – thanks Melissa!

        Reply
    3. Meghan

      August 23, 2012 at 12:09 pm

      I love fried polenta, and it look fantastic with this stew! Great dish!

      Reply
    4. Jamie

      August 21, 2012 at 8:28 am

      LOVE fried polenta and yours with the stew over it reminds me of eating dishes just like this in Italy! Perfect!!

      Reply
    5. Rachael

      August 15, 2012 at 8:29 am

      You’ve inspired me – I’m doing a veggie summer sauce over fried polenta tonight 🙂

      Reply
    6. Tanna

      August 15, 2012 at 8:06 am

      Oh my yes, it’s time for fried polenta again. I love this stuff. Must put some on the menu this week. Thanks for the gorgeous reminder!

      Reply
    7. angela@spinachtiger

      August 15, 2012 at 7:50 am

      Sausage, polenta, kale, are just naturals. You’ve done a great job making a dish that will take anyone gracefully and happily into Fall.

      Reply
    8. thyme (sarah)

      August 15, 2012 at 6:29 am

      I can’t believe I’ve never had polenta. It looks so delicious and I love to make stews. I do need to remedy this and either order it in a restaurant or make this recipe!

      Reply
    9. Valérie (Franche-Comté)

      August 15, 2012 at 5:08 am

      J’adore la polenta avec trois fromages fondus hummmm
      Ton plat est appétissant plein de saveurs et de couleurs
      Je te souhaite une bonne journée de 15 août
      Valérie

      Reply
    10. kelley

      August 14, 2012 at 8:44 pm

      haha……It would be a great for a meatless meal if it didn’t have sausage 🙂

      Reply
    11. kelley

      August 14, 2012 at 8:41 pm

      Looks amazing, Barbara! I love Polenta and that vegetable stew is gorgeous. Perfect for a comforting meatless dinner!

      Reply
    12. bakingaddict

      August 14, 2012 at 4:09 pm

      This looks amazing! I was just looking at a packet of polenta in the supermarket the other day and wondering what to make with it. Well now I know!

      Reply
    13. teresa

      August 14, 2012 at 3:05 pm

      i love pouring stew over something, like rice or potatoes. fried polenta is genius and it looks so good!

      Reply
    14. Alison @ Ingredients, Inc

      August 14, 2012 at 1:21 pm

      i really want to try this! Sounds right up our alley

      Reply
    15. Jenni

      August 14, 2012 at 12:07 pm

      This looks amazing! I am definitely going to have to try this! My family has vetoed creamy polenta from now on, which is a shame because I love it! I will have to try fried sticks next! 🙂

      Reply
    16. Kitchen Belleicious

      August 14, 2012 at 9:37 am

      i saw a pin for baked fried polenta and I was so excited! Bought stuff to make it this weekend- you beat me to it and I am so glad you did because now I can make this stew too!

      Reply
    17. Annamaria

      August 14, 2012 at 6:25 am

      I love polenta and this recipe looks so nice. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    18. Paula @ Vintage Kitchen

      August 14, 2012 at 4:12 am

      Fantastic recipe! I really like polenta and this sounds perfect for this winter months. Love the stew by the way, so full of great ingredients.

      Reply
    19. Amy

      August 14, 2012 at 1:49 am

      Wow, what a lovely recipe. I really like the way you use the polenta. So smart. 😉

      Reply
    20. Rosa

      August 14, 2012 at 1:18 am

      Scrumptious! This dish must be so enjoyable.

      Cheers,

      Rosa

      Reply

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