Polenta e Salsiccia
A comforting Valdostan classic of creamy, coarse yellow polenta served with coarse pork sausages slow-simmered in red wine, rosemary and rich tomato sauce.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 65 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 610 kcal
Equipment
- •Heavy-based saucepan
- •Large sauté pan
- •Wooden spoon
- •Whisk
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- fat
- 24 g
- carbs
- 68 g
- fibre
- 6 g
- protein
- 26 g
- calories
- 610 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Warm the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
- 2
Add the sausages and brown on all sides until golden, about six minutes.
- 3
Transfer the sausages to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
- 4
Add the chopped onion and garlic, cooking until soft and sweet.
- 5
Pour in the red wine and scrape up any caramelised bits from the base.
- 6
Simmer until the wine reduces by half and the alcohol aroma fades.
- 7
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaf, and black pepper.
- 8
Return the sausages to the pan, cover, and simmer gently for thirty minutes.
- 9
Meanwhile, bring the salted water to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan.
- 10
Pour the cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps.
- 11
Switch to a wooden spoon and cook, stirring frequently, for forty minutes.
- 12
Spoon the soft polenta into warm bowls and top with sausages and sauce.
Chef's tips
Pour the polenta grain slowly into boiling water while whisking constantly to guarantee a completely lump-free texture. If the polenta thickens too quickly during its long cook, loosen it with a small splash of boiling water. Keep the sausages whole during braising to retain their juiciness.
Ingredient substitutions
- coarse yellow cornmeal (bramata polenta) → quick-cook polenta, reducing the simmering time to 8 minutes
- dry red wine → dry white wine or equal volume of light meat stock
Storage
Store leftover polenta and sausage stew separately in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat the sausages gently in a covered saucepan over low heat, and warm the polenta with a splash of hot water, whisking until smooth.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Dumping the polenta into the water all at once, which creates stubborn dry lumps
- •Boiling the sausage sauce over high heat, which toughens the pork casing and dries out the meat
- •Under-cooking coarse bramata polenta so that the corn grains remain gritty rather than creamy
Serving suggestions
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