A fantastic dish, messy polenta is a dish my mom often prepared for me when I was little, in winter, and it was immediately a celebration. To be honest, she made taragna polenta, which I loved, but I couldn’t find it at the supermarket today, so I’m offering it to you with yellow polenta, very easy to find, even in the easy-cook version. I made it with delicious soy ragù. If you love polenta, try the polenta with taleggio and mushrooms. We can obviously replace taleggio with our favorite cheese in the preparation of the messy polenta.
If you are looking for other oven-baked recipes, here are some ideas to try.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economic
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients for the messy polenta
- 2 1/8 cups yellow polenta flour
- 8 3/4 oz soy flakes
- 2 1/2 cups Tomato sauce
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 leaves Bay leaves
- to taste Salt and pepper
- 1 glass Dry white wine
- 2 tbsps Extra virgin olive oil
- 8 3/4 oz Asiago cheese
- 1 1/8 oz Grated Parmesan cheese
Tools for preparing the polenta
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- 1 Baking dish
Preparation of the messy polenta
Let’s prepare the ragù: First, prepare the soy ragù: soak the soy flakes in plenty of salted boiling water. After 10 minutes, drain and squeeze them well. In a saucepan, sauté a chopped mixture of celery, carrot, and onion with extra virgin olive oil. Add and flavor the squeezed soy. Deglaze with the wine. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper if you like, and bay leaves. Cook for at least 30 minutes, covering with a lid and adding water or vegetable broth if needed.
Prepare the polenta following the package instructions, I used the quick-cook kind, which I cooked for 5-10 minutes (2 1/8 cups for 1 quart of water).
In a baking tray lightly greased with oil, pour a layer of polenta. Alternate it with the ragù and cubed cheese until all ingredients are used. Finish with Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Bake in a static oven at 392°F for about 20 minutes. Serve the messy polenta piping hot.
Storage
You can store the messy polenta in the fridge for a couple of days.
