Polenta and Sausages for a Crowd (Polenta Alla Spianatora)
Updated May 31, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 2cups medium cornmeal
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 to 10cups boiling water or chicken broth
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1medium onion, finely diced
- 1½pounds Italian fennel sausage, sweet or hot, in 2- to 3-ounce links
- 1bay leaf
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 1basil sprig, plus more leaves for garnish
- 1cup dry red wine
- 1(28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes with their juices
- Red-pepper flakes, to taste
- ½pound sliced wild or cultivated mushrooms (optional)
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
- Grated pecorino cheese, for garnish
For the Polenta
For the Topping
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
658 calories; 36 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 1346 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the polenta: In a heavy-bottomed pot, whisk together polenta, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 8 cups boiling water over medium-high heat. Continue whisking as mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Turn heat to low and switch from a whisk to a wooden spoon. Stir every 10 minutes or so, for about 40 minutes, adding a splash of water as necessary to keep polenta from thickening too much. It may take as much as 2 cups more liquid to achieve a smooth, pourable consistency. Taste polenta for salt and add pepper to taste. Stir well, cover and keep warm for up to 30 minutes.
- Step 2
As polenta cooks, prepare the topping: Add olive oil to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened. Add sausages and let brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add bay leaf, garlic and basil sprig, and cook for 1 minute more. Add wine, turn up heat, and let reduce by half.
- Step 3
Add crushed tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 1 hour, until sauce has thickened somewhat. Taste and adjust with salt and red-pepper flakes. (If using mushrooms, sauté over high heat in a little olive oil, until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.)
- Step 4
To serve, rinse a large circular wooden board, about 18-inch diameter, with cool water. (Alternatively, use a large platter.) Pour polenta onto the board, and, using a spatula, quickly spread it into a circle about ¾-inch deep.
- Step 5
Carefully ladle sauce over the polenta, leaving a 1-inch polenta border at the edges. Arrange sausages over the sauce. Top with mushrooms, if using. Sprinkle with basil, parsley and pecorino.
- Step 6
Place polenta in the center of the table, alongside bowls of grated pecorino. To serve the dish traditionally, offer guests forks but no plates and invite them to attack the polenta nearest their chair. Alternatively, cut polenta into large slices, and serve on dinner plates.
Private Notes
Comments
1. We usually pour polenta onto boards, in part to cool off. 2. When it cools off it starts to solidify. 3. We more often at that point, portion it into plates. 4. When we do actually eat off the board (on specific occasions), the polenta isn't usually runny. As it isn't runny, and we're only really eating from a small area in front of us, we're usually not spooning into areas where someone else has eaten. At how many dinner parties do you find 10 single serving bowls of dip?
My dear, departed friend Lisa made this for a hungry group of adults and children. We spread clean wipeable table clothes over two picnic tables and she poured hearty polenta in a long line down the middle, then topped with the tomato sauce, herbs and grated cheese, omitting the cheese from a portion for the vegans like me in the crowd, and adding sausage to a portion for those who ate meat. We took to it with our spoons; it was a huge hit for all. Truly memorable, lots of laughs and joy. Love!
This can be made in individual portions so let's move past that. Does anyone have any comments on the flavor and texture?
Delicious. Opened the sausages and crumbled the meat into the sauce. A huge hit. Served in individual bowls. The flavor of the sauce is spectacular.
Made this - it was delicious. I read the notes so knew to start with the sauce, not the polenta. I couldn’t get fennel sausage so I added two sliced fennel bulbs with the onions to get that flavour (and save on a side veg dish) and it worked beautifully. I served in individual bowls and so far the recipe writer has not shown up at my house to demand satisfaction.
That was perfect. I made half the sauce and just 1/2 cup of polenta for the two of us. Sauce left for something else. It was perfect. This is really just good old fashioned spaghetti sauce with sausage. But perfect proportions. A keeper.