Polenta frita with Salsa Napoletana

The Polenta Frita:


The inspiration for this dish is referenced at the end of this post, along with the original ingredients and recipe. However I made some changes. I had no leek, so I used some onion instead. I chose to allow the juices of the the fried and boiled vegetables to cool in a bowl after the vegetables were removed, and then added the cornmeal slowly, whisking with each dessert spoonful added.


When the mixture was at the right sort of consistency, I added butter to a hot omelette pan (non-stick!), and used a medium sized cookie-cutter to get the circular shape for the polenta. The mixture was spooned into the cookie-cutter, and then the cutter was removed from the pan.


Cooked for six minutes on each side, starting at a high heat, and then reducing to the lowest heat on my electric hob. Three of those minutes on each side were spent under glass, which means that the polenta had the opportunity to cook thoroughly, without becoming dry.


The Salsa Napoletana:


The same variation on salsa Napoletana I made yesterday. I diced two rashers of smoked bacon, and fried the pieces in a large saute pan in a little olive oil. I then added a julienned onion, and half a diced pepper. The ingredients were stir-fried for twenty minutes at a medium heat, until the onions began to brown, and the bacon became crispy.


I mashed a tin of peeled plum Italian tomatoes in a bowl and added them to the saute pan, along with about 400mls of boiling water. Stirred through the dish thoroughly, and add vegetable stock. Then I added about 40g of pieces of Blue Stilton cheese. Stirred for about seven minutes at a medium heat, until the cheese had entirely dissolved in the salsa.


The hob was turned down to a low heat, and was allowed to simmer for half an hour, with occasional stirring. Add black pepper, oregano, and some basil.


***

The original ingredients and recipe:

1 cup Cornmeal
6,5 cups water
salt
piece of leek, carrot, celery (to give an extra flavor to the Polenta)
1 TBPS butter

1. in butter, brown the vegetables, then add water, salt and boil.
2. once boiled, take out the vegetables, add cornmeal little by little, please watch out, the meal does not form little balls, you need a whisk.
3. cook in low heat by mixing slowly for about 5 minutes.
4. transfer to a square plate and let it cool down. This took me about 1 hour.
5. form your Polentas, any form you like.
6. in a pan add butter and fry them, 5 minutes each side.
7. serve with your favorite sauce.
Inspiration from Susana at 'Delicioso y Divertido'.