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!
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.
Fried Polenta with Sausage Vegetable Stew
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
Thanks Rachael for the fun challenge. Visit the Daring Kitchen to see all the delicous cornmeal recipes the Daring Cooks cooked up this month.
October
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?Â
Barbara Schieving
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?
Melissa Thomas
Made this today, delicious.
Barbara Schieving
Great – thanks Melissa!
Meghan
I love fried polenta, and it look fantastic with this stew! Great dish!
Jamie
LOVE fried polenta and yours with the stew over it reminds me of eating dishes just like this in Italy! Perfect!!
Rachael
You’ve inspired me – I’m doing a veggie summer sauce over fried polenta tonight 🙂
Tanna
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!
angela@spinachtiger
Sausage, polenta, kale, are just naturals. You’ve done a great job making a dish that will take anyone gracefully and happily into Fall.
thyme (sarah)
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!
Valérie (Franche-Comté)
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
kelley
haha……It would be a great for a meatless meal if it didn’t have sausage 🙂
kelley
Looks amazing, Barbara! I love Polenta and that vegetable stew is gorgeous. Perfect for a comforting meatless dinner!
bakingaddict
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!
teresa
i love pouring stew over something, like rice or potatoes. fried polenta is genius and it looks so good!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
i really want to try this! Sounds right up our alley
Jenni
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! 🙂
Kitchen Belleicious
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!
Annamaria
I love polenta and this recipe looks so nice. Thanks for sharing.
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen
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.
Amy
Wow, what a lovely recipe. I really like the way you use the polenta. So smart. 😉
Rosa
Scrumptious! This dish must be so enjoyable.
Cheers,
Rosa