Italian Sausage and Polenta with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Polenta is a favorite staple of mine. It’s so easy to prepare and this dish is ready in 30 minutes (start to finish)! Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal (ground maize). It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. Polenta is the staple food in northern Italy, where it still outshines pasta, and can be served in innumerable ways, as a first course, baked, with stews, or even as a bread substitute.

Serves 4
recipe from Ultimate Italian

1/2 of a 16 ounce tube refrigerated cooked polenta
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 uncooked sweet Italian sausage links (about 1 lb. in total)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons snipped dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
1 (8oz) package mixed salad greens
1/4 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 200c (400f). Cut polenta into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut each slice in half. Brush polenta with olive oil and arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake about 15 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat for 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove sausage from skillet. Drain off fat; wipe skillet with paper towels. Return sausage to skillet; add apple juice, balsamic vinegar and dried tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink. To serve, divide salad greens among four dinner plates. Arrange polenta slices and sausage next to greens. Drizzle balsamic mixture over green, polenta and sausage. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: I found that a 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar was too much so do a taste test before adding all of it. If you have left over polenta, slice it and spread lightly with soft butter; broil until golden. Serve for breakfast with sliced strawberries and warmed honey or blueberries and hot maple syrup. YUM!