This dish combines creamy polenta with a classic puttanesca sauce that is traditionally served over pasta.
Recipe courtesy of Williams-Sonoma
Ingredients
- FOR THE PUTTANESCA SAUCE: 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small white onion, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 pounds plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata, niçoise or gaeta olives
- 1/4 cup drained capers
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cured anchovy fillets
- 1/4 teaspoon crused red pepper flakes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- FOR THE POLENTA: 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup polenta
Preparation
- 1 To make the sauce, in a saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
- 2 Add the tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies and red pepper flakes, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the tomatoes are tender and begin to break down, 25 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper and stir in the parsley. Keep the sauce warm.
- 3 To make the polenta, in a saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt. Stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, add the polenta in a thin, steady stream until incorporated. Continue stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Reduce the heat so the mixture bubbles occasionally. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, until the polenta is thick and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes.
- 4 Divide the polenta among warmed pasta bowls. Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce over each serving and pass the rest at the table. Serve immediately.
