Breakfast Polenta with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It was another busy day. The boys climbed Spencer Butte this morning and spent the afternoon picking berries for a pie and a flognard. Between adventures we stopped back home for this delicious pizza-like polenta that has a Southwestern flair. I made the polenta earlier in the day and spread it in a pan, so we could cut, rather than spoon it onto plates. The rest of the assembly is quite easy and the finished dish was scarfed down by our hungry boys. The recipe for this first appeared in Bon Appetit magazine and I like it well enough to keep it in my recipe rotation, usually serving it for brunch or a light supper. A few ingredient substitutions can be made. Coarse yellow cornmeal can be used in place of polenta and any spicy sausage can be used if you are unable to find chorizo. It's best, however, to use cherry tomatoes for the sauce. Other varieties can add too much liquid to the topping and take longer to cook as well. I know that those of you who try this will like it. Here's the recipe.

Breakfast Polenta with Chorizo and Queso Fresco...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3-1/4 cups water
1 cup polenta (coarse yellow cornmeal) or regular cornmeal
1 1-pound bag frozen yellow corn kernels, thawed
1 pound fresh link chorizo sausage, casings removed
1 pound cherry tomatoes (about 3 1/2 cups)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss cheese and cilantro in small bowl. Mix 3-1/4 cups water, polenta, and corn kernels in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and stir to blend well. Bake until water is absorbed and polenta is tender, stirring once, about 25 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, break chorizo into small pieces and saute in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes to skillet. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until tomatoes soften, about 6 minutes. Uncover; crush some tomatoes with fork. Simmer until tomatoes release juices and sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Spoon or cut polenta into squares and put on individual serving plates. Top each with a portion of chorizo mixture, then cheese mixture. Yield: 4 servings

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Mamaliga Baked with Cheese - One Perfect Bite
Oven Baked Polenta - One Perfect Bite
Spoon Bread with Leeks and Gruyere Cheese
P Is for Polenta - The Duo Dishes
Crispy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Aged Cheddar Cheese - Whisk: A Food Blog
Polenta with Mushroom Duxelles - Vino Luci
Creamy Polenta with Sausage - The Diner's Journal
Polenta Lasagna with Mushrooms Bechamel - Retro Food
Bacon Sage Polenta - The Blue Kitchen

Oven-Baked Polenta

This recipe is a godsend when you don't have free hands to make polenta. It comes from Paula Wolfert's The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen and it's remarkably easy to do. Be forewarned that it does, however, take about an hour and a half to cook. It can be used to make a soft or medium polenta. Soft polenta will require a ratio of 5 parts liquid to 1 part cornmeal. A medium polenta will require a ratio of 4 parts liquid to 1 part cornmeal. I prefer to use chicken or vegetable stock when making polenta and I also add herbs or cheese the last 10 minutes of cooking for added flavor. This is amazingly simple to do.



Oven-Baked Polenta

Ingredients:
2 cups medium-coarse or coarse-grind cornmeal
8 to 10 cups cool water or stock
2 tablespoons butter or flavorful olive oil
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-inch cazuela, skillet or ovenproof casserole. Add cornmeal, liquid, butter or oil and salt. Stir with a fork until blended - the mixture will separate but no need to worry. Bake uncovered for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
2) Stir polenta with a long-handled fork. Adjust seasoning to taste. If adding herbs or cheese this is the time to do it. Bake for 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven; let rest for 5 minutes. If serving soft polenta, pour into a serving bowl. If serving medium polenta, pack it into a rectangular or square pan to fasciltate cutting serving size portions. Yield: 6 servings.