I really love polenta...you know from earlier posts exactly where my technique comes from with the Polenta. I usually thicken my polenta up much more, let it rest for a couple hours in the fridge and then slice it for baking or a light fry, but this time i kept it really simple and opted for a soft Polenta. I used a home made Pomodoro base to bring it toghether. The chickn was bone in breast that i removed from the bone before baking. This dish is a great way to go Italian without the heaviness associated with a pasta dish.
What you will need:
4 chicken breasts
3 tbs lemon infused olive oil or plain with a little lemon zest tossed in.
2 tbs regular olive oil
7 cloves garlic (4 sliced for the chicken and 3 minced for the polenta)
1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1 bag sliced baby bellas
1/2 red bell sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cornmeal
1 roma tomato chopped small
10 leaves chopped fresh basil
1 medium onion sliced
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red peper flakes
How to make it happen:
Rub the chicken breasts with the olive oil and put them into a coverable baking dish. Top the chicken with the sliced garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary and then cover with the sliced onions...put the lid on and slide into a 350 degree oven for around 55 minutes. Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a small sauce pan...add the tomato, basil, crushed red pepper and minced garlic...break this down over a medium high heat. Kick the heat up to high and add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and slowly....slowly...slowly stir in the cornmeal to avoid lumps. Continuously stir over a medium heat until the polenta is thick but still soft. Turn off the heat and cover...it will thicken a little bit more before you serve it. When the chicken is done tranfer the onions to a sautee pan with 1 tbs hot olive oil...allow them to cook down before tossing in the mushrooms and red bell. I like a quick and light sautee on my mushrooms...i think they release so much flavor when they are left nice and firm. I would really categorize this one as quick and ultra easy. I paired this dish with sweet potato and pear turnip greens....still working on that recipe, but it was good.
