Polenta with bean and chorizo sauce: perfect dinner
Cornmeal plays a rather minor role in many kitchens. Yet this northern Italian specialty provides an excellent base for robust flavors. When you combine creamy polenta with a hearty sauce made from white beans and chorizo, you create a wonderfully warming dish.
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 150g Chorizo
- 1 can of white beans (250 g)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (400 g)
- salt and pepper
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 600 ml vegetable broth
- 150 g Polenta
- 30 g Butter
- 50 g grated Parmesan
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
- 20 g Parmesan (for sprinkling)
- Peel the onion and garlic and chop both finely. Slice or dice the chorizo. Drain the beans.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chorizo over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until lightly crispy.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the tomato paste and paprika powder and briefly sauté both.
- Deglaze with the diced tomatoes and add the white beans. Let everything simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and dried oregano.
- Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in the polenta and reduce the heat. Let the polenta simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring constantly, until it has a creamy consistency.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese.
- Arrange the polenta on plates, pour the bean and chorizo sauce over it, and sprinkle everything with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
Mediterranean culinary fireworks: Polenta with bean and chorizo sauce
In Northern Italy, this golden-yellow porridge is a firmly established part of the culinary tradition. It's typically served there as a side dish to rich meat dishes or robust tomato sauces. This very quality makes polenta the ideal base for a rich topping. While pasta or rice often have a strong flavor of their own, polenta readily absorbs the aromas of the sauce. To prepare it, slowly stir the polenta into hot liquid. Constant stirring prevents lumps and ensures a smooth consistency. A little butter or grated cheese at the end of the cooking time makes for an even more supple texture.
This sauce thrives on just a few, but very flavorful, ingredients. At its heart is the Spanish chorizo. When fried in a pan, the chorizo releases its reddish, intensely spiced fat. This oil forms the flavor base for the entire sauce and later coats the white beans. You can decide how spicy you want your dish to be. The sausage is available in various spice levels, from mild to hot. The white beans have a soft texture and are very filling. Tomatoes add a touch of acidity and bind the ingredients together into a smooth, harmonious sauce. For those who prefer a meat-free option, sauté strongly seasoned mushrooms instead. Mushrooms also contribute plenty of umami flavor to the dish and pair perfectly with the beans.
It's definitely worth making a larger batch of the sauce. Leftovers can easily be frozen and reheated on days when you're short on time. The bean mixture isn't just good with cornmeal; you can also stir it into freshly cooked pasta.
