Sautéed Polenta Squares with Italian Sausage Sauce

From the book Cooking for the Week by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart

Introduction

A crisp square of sautéed or grilled polenta is heavenly. We made a chunky tomato sauce with Italian sausage and lots of chopped fresh parsley to spoon over the squares of polenta. Buy sweet mild or spicy hot Italian sausage, depending on your “heat” tolerance.

Ingredients

Steps

1. In a 4-quart sauté pan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Swirl to coat the pan. Add the sausage and sauté until the meat is no longer pink; use a metal spatula to cut the sausage into small chunks. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.
2. Drain off the fat and return the pan to medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the onion, celery, and carrots until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and juice. Stir to combine and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 275°F. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and fry the polenta squares until lightly browned on both sides. You may need to do this in 2 batches. Place on a baking sheet and keep warm until the sauce is done.
4. Add the sausage and parsley to the sauce. Add salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Place 2 squares of polenta, slightly overlapping, on each plate. Spoon a generous amount of sauce over and serve immediately.

This content is from the book Cooking for the Week by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart.