Despite the title of the diary, these ingredients--polenta, pancetta, and potatoes--were used in three different recipes this past week. Polenta was an ingredient I'd never tried, and I decided to experiment with it. The first recipe was a fried mushroom polenta that I'd read earlier this week:
Mushroom Herb Polenta Cakes
* 1 cup med/coarse cornmeal
* 4 cups water
* 1 cup diced brown mushrooms
* 1/2 cup diced scallions
* Salt to taste
* Pepper to taste
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* Olive oil for frying
* Romano cheese for topping
* Thyme for topping
* Grape tomatoes(optional serving suggestion)
* Rosemary (for tomatoes)
Directions For Mushroom Polenta Cakes
1. Finely dice mushrooms and scallions. Sauté in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic on medium heat. Remove from heat when scallions are soft. About 4 minutes. Set aside.
2. Bring 4 cups water to an almost boil in a large pot. Lower heat and slowly add one cup of polenta while stirring so it doesn’t clump. Stir until polenta is creamy and begins to thicken. Add salt (start with a 1/2 teaspoon and add more to taste) and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Continue cooking and stirring for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in mushrooms and scallions.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread polenta evenly across using back of a spoon or spatula. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Flatten, smooth and form nice edges by gliding your hands across top of parchment paper. Put in fridge to cool for at least 1 hour.
4. Once a solid polenta slab has formed, it’s time to cut out the cakes. Pat slab dry with paper towels if any moisture has formed. Cut out cakes (squares, triangles, circles, whatever) using stencil if desired.
5. Coat bottom of pan in olive oil and heat to medium high heat. Place a cake on the pan and DON’T move it. Let it fry for 2-3 minutes per side untouched. Flip and repeat.
6. Drain on paper towels. Top with grated Romano cheese and fresh thyme before serving.
7. For the roasted tomatoes: Just toss grape tomatoes in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until blistering and slightly browning at peaks. Serve hot atop polenta or on the side.
See this picture? It's from that blog, Honest Fare. Did my effort with this recipe turn out the same way? I think it kind of did, although the cakes were a lot thinner than I expected. It was delicious though :-) Here's the picture below of my effort:
It turned out pretty well, and my husband proclaimed the recipe to be one of the best vegetarian meals he's ever had. He's a carnivore, so it meant a lot to me to hear that from him.
I then tried this asparagus hash, involving potatoes and pancetta, that I'd read about on Smitten Kitchen and had instantly wanted to try. I went to Central Market, a grocery store here in Austin, to pick up the pancetta. The pancetta in the refrigerated deli section in the store was too thin for me, so I went to the deli counter and had the butcher cut out thick 1/2 inch rounds of pancetta for me. I also got a handful of yellow yukon potatoes and small, thin asparagus according to the recipe below:
Spring Asparagus Pancetta Hash
I know I say this a lot, but this is indeed a flexible recipe. The core idea is a one-pan hash that is lighter than the expected versions and full of texture; whether you get to this place with yellow potatoes or Russets, slab bacon or pancetta, asparagus or something else that struck your fancy at the market that week doesn’t much matter. You don’t even need to put an egg on it, if you’re more in a broiled salmon or grilled cutlets kind of place tonight. But it’s not half bad just the way it is, and I suspect this is going to become a weekend morning staple. And yes, that’s my husband you hear cheering in the background; he gets that way around cured pork products.
Makes enough to top with four fried eggs
1/4 pound pancetta (a cured pork that is less salty than proscuitto, and not smoked like bacon), cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
1 small yellow onion, chopped small
1/2 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments
Salt and pepper to taste
Serving ideas: Fried eggs, dabs of goat cheese and slivers of green onions
Heat a 12-inch cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Fry the pancetta, turning it frequently so that it browns and crisps on all sides; this takes about 10 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon and drain it on paper towels. Leave the heat on and the renderings in the pan. (With a well-seasoned cast iron, this should be all the fat you need to cook the remainder of the hash. If you’re not using a cast iron, you might need to add a tablespoon or so of oil; if you’ve skipped the pork, you’ll want to start with 2 tablespoons oil.)
Add the potatoes don’t move them for a couple minutes. Use this time to season them well with salt and pepper. Once they’ve gotten a little brown underneath, begin flipping and turning them, then letting them cook again for a few minutes. The idea is not to fight them off the frying pan, once they’ve gotten a little color, it’s easier to flip them and you’ve gotten closer to your goal of getting them evenly browned.
When the potatoes are about three-fourths as crisped and brown as you’d like them — this takes about 15 minutes — add the onion. (I add this now, not earlier, because I find it often burns before the potatoes are done.) Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the asparagus, cover the pan and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until crisply cooked. (Skinny asparagus will take just 5 minutes; thicker asparagus will take longer.) Remove the lid, return the pancetta to the pan for another minute, to reheat. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Serve immediately.
The asparagus hash turned out beautifully, and went very well with our roasted chicken breasts. We were mmm-ing and yumm-ing throughout the dinner, and it was a wonderful dish to make, although the preparation was very time consuming. Since I'd made such a large amount of hash, I reserved about a cup to use for brunch the next day.
This is where the third recipe comes in---of my own making. I decided to make mini-frittatas with the hash. I pre-heated the oven at 375 degrees, pulled out a regular muffin tray, put in small piles of the hash in each muffin tin along with a healthy dollop of mozzarella cheese. I added the blended egg mix (milk, pepper, salt, and chopped chives) into each of the muffin tins. I put it in the oven for about 12 to 17 minutes. This recipe took me about sixteen minutes in the oven.
It was delicious this morning.
So, kossacks, what's for dinner tonight?