Polenta with cabbage and bacon is a delicious, quick, and light one-dish meal that can be prepared in just a few minutes with pre-cooked polenta. I love polenta, and for convenience, I often use pre-cooked, instant polenta, but if you have time, you can also use cornmeal to prepare a delicious slow-cooked polenta. Here in Calabria, polenta is eaten just like in the north, but it is often accompanied with vegetables. A classic Calabrian dish is polenta with broccoli, which I remember my father calling ‘frascatola.’ I wanted to prepare a slightly different recipe with stewed cabbage, but I have to say the result was excellent in the end, different from the classic frascatola, but very similar because it is still paired with cabbage in the end, made flavorful by Calabrian chili oil and smoked bacon browned with a bit of butter. Yes, I love browning it with a piece of butter; it turns out really special and goes to season the cabbage and polenta. Let’s see how to make this delicious dish of polenta with stewed cabbage and crispy bacon. I’ll leave you immediately to my quick polenta recipe. Also try the cabbage with wine in a pan, or cabbage with sausages.
Here are many recipes with polenta.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for Polenta with Cabbage and Bacon
- 1 cabbage (about 2.2 lbs)
- 3 cups instant polenta
- 3.5 oz smoked bacon
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
- to taste chili pepper
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Pan
- 1 Small Pan
Steps to Prepare Polenta with Cabbage and Bacon
1. Clean a cabbage by removing the outer leaves. Divide it into 4 parts, into wedges, and then thinly slice. Wash and cook in a pan with a clove of garlic, a glass of water, salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook over medium heat with the lid on for about 30-45 minutes.
2. Brown the bacon in a small pan with a bit of butter.
3. Prepare the polenta. Put the necessary amount of water in a pot, I use about 6 1/3 cups (1.5 liters) for 3 cups (360g) of instant polenta flour. Bring to a boil, add salt, a bit of chili, I use chili oil, and a bit of butter. Optionally, add black pepper. Once boiling, pour in the flour and stir for the indicated time, usually a few minutes until the polenta is well thickened.
4. Pour the polenta into a tray or serving plates, add the well-dried cabbage on top, the browned bacon, and add more chili and grated Parmesan or Gran cheese to taste. Ready to enjoy our flavorful, easy, and quick-to-prepare polenta.
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If polenta is left over, it can be eaten fried, or even gratinated in the oven or in a pan. The cabbage can also be reheated without any problem and can be kept for a couple of days in the fridge.
You can replace the bacon with crumbled sausage, which can be reheated with the cabbage or with speck, or even with Gorgonzola cheese.
