Polenta with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Italian Pork Sausage

After a few weeks off, I'm back to bring you more delicious treats.  This dish was actually so good that I had to force myself to stop eating it or I'd get sick. Delicious way of putting it, I know.  So, this is a relatively simple, one plate meal that involves prepping all of your ingredients ahead of time so the components will be ready at around the same time.  It's a bit of a balancing act but well-worth the effort.  The creaminess of the polenta balances perfectly with the tangy-spicy-sweetness of the tomato sauce, and the juicy, fatty Italian pork sausage.  This is my kind of comfort food.

Makes about 2-3 servings

Browned Sausage and Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

2 sweet Italian pork sausages

1 medium carrot peeled and small diced

1 celery stalk small diced

1/2 yellow onion small diced

1/2 red bell pepper small diced

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup chicken stock

1-14 ounce can of peeled diced tomatoes (or half of a 28 ounce can)

6 basil leaves roughly chopped

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Freshly grated parmesan to finish 

Instructions for Tomato Sauce:

1) Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Remove the sausages from their casings and add to the hot skillet.  Break the sausages into little pieces using the back of a wooden spoon.  

2) Cook the sausage until browned and cooked through.  Some fat should render out of the sausages and will add flavor to the sauce.  Keeping the rendered fat in the pan, remove the sausages onto a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside.

3) Return the skillet to medium heat and then add the carrot, celery, onion and red bell pepper.  Stirring occasionally, cook until the onions are translucent.  

4) Add the tomato paste and chicken stock and cook until the liquid has reduced by 1/3 (about 5 minutes).

5) Add the tomatoes, basil and a Tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.  Cook for about 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens.  

6) Transfer the sauce to a blender (or to a small bowl and use an immersion blender) and blend until only slightly chunky.  This will create a smoother sauce but still maintain some of the yummy texture.  Don't blend it into baby food.

7) Return sauce to the skillet and heat up just before serving.  

**This can be made ahead of time or (if you have a friend helping, or you're super coordinated) while you are making the polenta.  If you start both around the same time, they should both be ready in about 1/2 hour.  

Polenta Ingredients

4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup polenta

Instructions for the Polenta:

1) Bring the water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.

2) In a steady stream, while stirring with a whisk, add the polenta.

3) Lower the heat to a simmer and, stirring constantly, cook the polenta for about 1/2 hour or until it starts to pull away from the saucepan.  For the last five minutes I switched to a wooden spoon for easier stirring.   

Putting the dish together:

1) Give the sausage a very quick reheating in a small skillet. 

2) Spoon some of the polenta into a bowl, top with the tomato sauce and then add some of the sausage. 

3) Top with freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of good olive oil and serve immediately.  Enjoy!!