Italian Sausage and Greens with Gorgonzola Polenta

We had this recipe the other night and we fell in love with Gorgonzola and Polenta.  Think upscale cheesy grits.  Mmmm.  My mouth is watering now thinking about it!  So what is polenta you ask?  It's super easy to make - and really similar to the texture of grits - combine 4 parts liquid to 1 part cornmeal.  Whisk until smooth and season.  Endless possibilities here folks!

The salty kick from the Italian sausage combined with the crunchy green broccoli and creamy polenta made for the perfect bite.  And the best part is this delicious dinner was on the table in 15 minutes.  For real.  Perfect for a busy night... aaaaaannnnnnndd in less time than it takes to cook a frozen pizza!

Italian Sausage and Greens with Gorgonzola Polenta - inspiration taken from this post.

2 link Italian sausage, casings removed

1 large handful of fresh baby spinach

1 large handful of fresh chopped broccoli

2 cups water

1/2 cup cornmeal

dash red pepper flakes (to taste)

sprinkle of crumbled gorgonzola (to taste)

Directions

Cook the sausage in a pan until no longer pink.  If you are using Italian sausage, don't forget to remove the casings first.  The reason I used a combination of baby spinach and broccoli is because I didn't have enough of one to make the whole meal and they both needed to be used up.  Surprise surprise!  Don't drain the sausage once it's done cooking - mine didn't make that much grease - if yours does, leave a little to cook the broccoli and baby spinach.  You'll be very happy because the vegetables take on a little flavor of the sausage.  Yum!  

Once the sausage is cooked through, add in the spinach, broccoli, and red pepper flakes to taste.  Keep cooking this until the spinach is wilted and the broccoli is softened and slightly browned.

 

This is what it looks like when the topping is done :)

Meanwhile, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  The original recipe called for chicken stock, but I didn't have any.  I've also made polenta with milk.  Polenta is very user friendly and follows the same ratios no matter what liquids you use.  4:1 ratio of liquid:dry polenta.  Once the water is boiling, slowly whisk in polenta.  Keep whisking until thickened.  This happens pretty quickly.  I made a mistake and accidentally dumped in my dry polenta without whisking.  I thought it was going to stay lumpy, but I was able to get most of the lumps out with a little elbow grease and a whisk!  When the polenta is thickened, add crumbled gorgonzola (to taste).  We added a few tablespoons.  Stir until cheese is completely incorporated.  Note: If you're not going to add in cheese, you will want to add some salt and pepper for seasoning, otherwise the polenta will be very bland.

Make your plate and voila - dinner's done!  And quite tasty too!

The Verdict

DH LOVED this recipe!!  He usually is pretty laid back when it comes to new recipes I try.  If he really doesn't like it - he says so.  If he can force it down or is impartial to it - he eats it down happily.  But, in this case, he loudly voiced his opinion that this was a definite keeper recipe!  I just can't tell you how good this recipe is.  The tangy cheese.  The creamy polenta.  The perfectly al dente vegetables.  The unique, salty flavor of the sausage.  We will be making this again.  It's a good clean out the refrigerator kind of recipe. If you're not a gorgonzola person, you could always add parmesan cheese or your favorite cheese to the polenta.  One last note on the polenta - you will want to eat this up fairly soon after you make it because it sets up easily and quickly.  My only regret is that this only made 2 servings = no leftovers for lunch :(  You have to try this recipe!  I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as we did.