Polenta with tomato bacon and cheese is a hearty and flavorful dish that is perfect for any occasion. This classic Italian dish is made with cornmeal and is often served with a variety of toppings, such as tomato sauce, bacon, and cheese. The combination of the creamy polenta and the tangy tomato sauce creates a delicious and satisfying meal that is sure to please everyone at the table.
Here are our top 10 tried and tested recipes!
15-MINUTE CHEESY POLENTA WITH CHUNKY TOMATO RAGU
This quick homemade tomato ragu is packed with vegetables and takes just a few minutes longer than warming up a jar of sauce. Finely chopping the vegetables in a food processor cuts down the cooking time tremendously. Serve it over quick-cooking creamy polenta for a complete meal that's ready in 15 minutes.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories main-dish
Time 15m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Place a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the milk, 3 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt in a medium saucepan, cover and set it over medium-high heat.
- When the large skillet is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl the pan to coat. Add the sausage and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat, until lightly browned in parts, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the onion into large chunks.
- Add the onion, carrots and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the vegetables and a large pinch of salt to the pan with the sausage and cook until the vegetables are slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- By this time, the milk and water mixture should be at a strong simmer. Whisk in the polenta and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until the polenta is thickened and creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the butter and cheese and season with additional salt if needed. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
- When the vegetables are slightly softened, stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are completely tender and the juice from the tomatoes has reduced slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and red pepper flakes if desired.
- Divide the polenta (if the polenta is too thick, whisk in 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water to thin it out) among 4 bowls and top with the chunky tomato ragu. Toss the greens in a large bowl with the remaining olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some salt and pepper and serve on the side.
FRIED POLENTA WITH TOMATO BASIL SAUCE
Steps:
- Butter a 12 by 14-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a large pot, bring the stock and milk to a boil. While whisking, slowly add the cornmeal and continue to whisk until thick, about 15 minutes. Stir in the red peppers and the blue cheese, if using. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and cool completely in refrigerator. When the polenta has cooled, cut into squares. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan. Place the polenta squares in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. In another saute pan, heat the remaining olive oil and add tomatoes and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the wine and butter and reduce until sauce has thickened and then add the basil and thyme. Transfer the polenta to a platter and pour the tomato sauce over the squares.
EASY POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE
My entire family loves this recipe. A quick baked polenta topped with red sauce. Very easy to make and great the next day too (and the day after that!) Top with additional Parmesan cheese if you like.
Provided by Jacquita
Categories Side Dish Grain Side Dish Recipes Polenta Recipes
Time 20m
Yield 6
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.
- In a large pot, combine the milk and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it is at a rolling boil, gradually whisk in the cornmeal, making sure there are no lumps. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Pour the polenta into the prepared baking dish, and spread spaghetti sauce over the top.
- Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until sauce is bubbling.
BAKED POLENTA WITH FRESH TOMATOES AND PARMESAN
This recipe is a perfect way to highlight and use fresh summer tomatoes. It makes a great side dish for grilled chicken or pork chops.
Provided by rjohl
Categories Side Dish Grain Side Dish Recipes Polenta Recipes
Time 40m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
- Place the water, milk, and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the polenta and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese and 2 chopped basil leaves; season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the polenta to the prepared baking dish and arrange the remaining chilled pieces of butter over the top.
- Bake the polenta in the preheated oven until bubbly and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Decoratively arrange the slices of tomato over the top of the polenta, spread the remaining basil leaves over the tomatoes, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
- Return to the oven and bake until the tomatoes are warm and the Parmesan cheese is bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 427.6 calories, Carbohydrate 37.5 g, Cholesterol 56.5 mg, Fat 21.1 g, Fiber 3.4 g, Protein 22.4 g, SaturatedFat 11.9 g, Sodium 1013 mg, Sugar 6.8 g
CHEESY BAKED POLENTA IN TOMATO SAUCE
This recipe is quite forgiving in that there's plenty of wiggle room to play. Use whatever herbs and cheeses you have on hand, for example, adjust the spice levels as preferred, and opt for fresh tomatoes if they're in season, or chopped canned tomatoes instead of whole. You can also veganize the dish entirely by using a nondairy milk and vegan cheese, adding some nutritional yeast if you like. This hearty main needs nothing more than some lightly cooked greens to eat alongside.
Provided by Yotam Ottolenghi
Categories dinner, casseroles, main course
Time 1h30m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Cut out a piece of parchment paper about 16-by-12 inches/40-by-30 centimeters in size and lay onto a clean work surface.
- Prepare the polenta: Add the milk, garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper to a medium saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and slowly pour in the polenta, whisking continuously, until completely incorporated and there are no lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring all the while with a spatula. When cooked, the mixture should pull away from the sides of the pan and be quite thick.
- Add the Parmesan, stirring for another 30 seconds to melt. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the parchment paper. Use your hands to quickly shape the polenta into a large cylindrical shape, about 13-inches/32-centimeters long. Use the parchment paper to help you tighten the cylinder and then gently roll the whole thing in the paper, tightening as you go, then twisting in opposite directions at both ends. Refrigerate to set for about 1 hour, or longer if time allows.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: Add the olive oil to a large, ovenproof cast-iron pan that is roughly 11-inches/28-centimeters wide, and heat over medium-high. Once hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes, or until softened and lightly colored.
- Stir in the garlic, red-pepper flakes and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, sugar, a scant 1/2 cup/100 milliliters water, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Set aside until needed.
- Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
- Gently unwrap the chilled polenta and transfer to a cutting board. Trim about 1 inch/2 to 3 centimeters off the ends and then cut the polenta into 24 (1-centimeter-thick) slices.
- Top the tomato sauce evenly with the sliced fontina, then fan out the polenta slices, overlapping slightly, so that they're spiraled to cover the top, leaving a 1-centimeter gap from the edge of the pan. Drizzle the polenta with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until polenta is golden in places and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes to settle.
- While the polenta cools, in a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients. Sprinkle a handful of the topping over the polenta and serve the remaining in a bowl alongside. Serve warm.
POLENTA PIE WITH CHEESE AND TOMATO SAUCE
Provided by Ruth Cousineau
Categories Cheese Tomato Bake Vegetarian Quick & Easy Mozzarella Summer Gourmet
Yield Makes 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Oil a 9-inch pie plate or a 4-cup gratin dish with 1 teaspoon oil. 3Cut polenta roll crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and line pie plate with half of slices, overlapping slices slightly to completely cover bottom of pie plate. Stir 1 tablespoon basil into 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce and spread over polenta, then sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Top with remaining half of polenta slices, then sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and remaining half of mozzarella.
- Bake until bubbling and golden, about 20 minutes. While pie bakes, heat remaining pasta sauce, basil, and oil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Let pie stand 5 minutes to firm up and cool, then serve with extra sauce on the side.
- *Found at many supermarkets and lucini.com.
POLENTA WITH PARMESAN AND TOMATO SAUCE
This is my favorite way to serve polenta, and it's the simplest, too. My son loves it -- maybe your kids will feel the same.
Provided by Martha Rose Shulman
Categories dinner, weekday, main course
Time 1h15m
Yield Serves four
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, water and salt in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir together, and place in the oven. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the butter and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and stir again. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir in the Parmesan, if using. Spoon onto plates, make a depression in the middle and spoon 1/4 heaped cup of simple tomato sauce into the depression. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 219, UnsaturatedFat 2 grams, Carbohydrate 39 grams, Fat 5 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 880 milligrams, Sugar 6 grams, TransFat 0 grams
BAKED POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND RICOTTA
I turn to polenta when I am in need of some good, old-fashioned comfort food. I suspect it's because there is not much difference between polenta and the grits I was raised on in North Florida. This simple dish relies once again on my favorite tomato sauce and not much else other than freshly cooked polenta made better than ever with a little added ricotta.
Provided by Art Smith
Categories HarperCollins Hominy/Cornmeal/Masa Tomato Vegetarian Parmesan Basil Ricotta Healthy Dinner
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- To prepare the tomato sauce:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the tomatoes, yellow onion, and garlic in a baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until the garlic is soft and the skin is peeling away from the tomatoes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and put in a saucepan. Squeeze the garlic out of the bulb and into the tomatoes. Remove the skin from the onion. Coarsely chop the onion and add to the tomatoes.
- Add the olive oil to the tomatoes and puree with a handheld immersion blender until smooth. You may need to add up to 1/3 cup water if there is not enough liquid. Season with salt. Warm the tomato sauce just prior to use.
- To prepare the polenta:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a simmer and stream in the polenta. Whisk together until there are no lumps. Cover with a lid and continue to cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Be careful when you go to stir the polenta-it tends to spit out pieces of the cornmeal, which is very hot. Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the olive oil and basil. Drop in teaspoon-size pieces of the ricotta cheese. Pour the polenta into an 8-inch square baking pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and let sit for 1 hour or until the polenta has firmed up. Bake the polenta in the oven for 15 minutes or until heated through. Cut the polenta into 8 equal pieces.
- To serve:
- Place 1/2 cup warm tomato sauce in 4 shallow bowls and top with two pieces of the polenta. Sprinkle with the chopped basil.
BAKED POLENTA WITH A TOMATO SAUCE
This is a very tasty, filling meal. It can be used as a side dish or as a main course. For those following Weight Watchers, the whole recipe provides 16.5 points, assuming you use low fat cheese. Prep time includes time for the polenta to set.
Provided by Shuzbud
Categories Low Protein
Time 2h40m
Yield 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Heat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.
- Pour 3 cups of cold water into a saucepan and turn the heat up to high.
- Add 1 cup polenta/ cornmeal gradually, stirring until it is all mixed in.
- Stir in the paprika and nutmeg.
- Heat until boiling, then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. NB: The polenta may spit if not stirred so be careful!
- When the polenta has thickened at the end of the 2 minutes, remove from the heat. Line a loaf pan with cling film/ saran wrap and pour the polenta in
- Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 2 hours until solid.
- Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for 3 minutes until soft.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, turn the polenta onto a chopping board and remove the cling film. Cut it into about 18 squares. Slices can also be used if they fit your baking tray better.
- Pour a third of the tomato sauce into a baking tray, top with half the polenta squares. Repeat the layers ending with sauce (alternatively I use a large shallow baking tray so I use a single layer of polenta squares with tomato sauce underneath and poured over the top).
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle the cheese over the top and return to the oven for 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.
POLENTA WITH VEGETABLES AND TOMATO SAUCE
Provided by Marian Burros
Categories dinner, lunch, main course, side dish
Time 45m
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Wash, trim, dry and slice mushrooms (use food processor); peel and mince garlic.
- Heat 3 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick pan. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Saute until the mushrooms begin to brown, stirring occasionally.
- Chop onion in food processor. Heat the remaining oil in a small nonstick pan and saute the onion until it begins to soften and brown.
- Shuck corn and steam for about 3 minutes.
- Scrub, trim and slice zucchini in food processor.
- Wash and chop oregano and add with the zucchini to the mushrooms and continue cooking over medium heat, five or six minutes, until zucchini is crisp but tender.
- Bring water to boil for polenta, following package directions.
- Wash, trim and slice the tomatoes in the food processor and add to onion; simmer until the rest of the dish is ready.
- Coarsely grate the cheese.
- Slowly add polenta to the boiling water and stir until mixture begins to thicken. It is ready when water is almost completely absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in half of the cheese. Then spoon immediately into large shallow baking dish, about 10 by 15 inches, and spread evenly.
- Remove enough corn from cob to make 2 cups and stir into zucchini mixture. Spoon over polenta and top with tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Either serve immediately or run under broiler (do not preheat) for a couple of minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle with parsley.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 460, UnsaturatedFat 6 grams, Carbohydrate 69 grams, Fat 13 grams, Fiber 8 grams, Protein 21 grams, SaturatedFat 6 grams, Sodium 426 milligrams, Sugar 15 grams, TransFat 0 grams
Tips:
- Choose the right polenta: Use coarse-ground polenta for a heartier dish or fine-ground polenta for a smoother, creamier dish.
- Cook the polenta slowly: This will help it to develop a rich, creamy flavor. Bring the water or broth to a boil, then add the polenta in a slow, steady stream. Stir constantly until the polenta has thickened and is cooked through.
- Season the polenta well: Polenta can be bland on its own, so it's important to season it well. Salt and pepper are essential, but you can also add other spices, such as garlic powder, onion powder, or paprika.
- Use high-quality ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will make a big difference in the final dish. Use fresh vegetables, good-quality bacon, and flavorful cheese.
- Don't be afraid to experiment: There are many different ways to make polenta. Feel free to experiment with different ingredients and flavors to find your favorite recipe.
Conclusion:
Polenta is a versatile and delicious dish that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste. With so many different recipes to choose from, there's sure to be a polenta dish that everyone will love.
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