Recipe: Baked Polenta with Bolognese Meat Sauce (using Pancetta)

BAKED POLENTA WITH BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE

BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE (RAGU ALLA BOLOGNESE):
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/4 lb pancetta, finely chopped (Italian bacon)
1 1/2 lb ground veal
salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 cup dry white wine*
1 (28 oz.) can crushed Italian tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
FOR THE BASIC POLENTA:
9 cups water
1 Tbsp salt
3 cups coarse grain cornmeal
FOR THE BAKED POLENTA:
6 Tbsp butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese - freshly grated

PREPARE THE MEAT SAUCE:
Melt butter with oil in a large saucepan. When butter foams, add onion, carrot, celery and pancetta. Saute over medium heat until lightly browned.

Add veal. Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper.

Increase heat and stir in wine. Cook until wine has evaporated. Press tomatoes through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds. Stir tomato pulp into veal mixture.

Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until sauce reaches a medium thick consistency. Stir occasionally during cooking.

Add milk and cook 5 minutes longer.

TO PREPARE THE BASIC POLENTA:
Bring water to a boil in a large heavy pot. Add salt and reduce heat until water is simmering. Take cornmeal by the handful and add to water very slowly, controlling the flow to a thin stream through your fingers. To avoid lumps, stir quickly with a long handled wooden spoon while adding cornmeal. If necessary, stop adding cornmeal from time to time and beat mixture vigorously. Cook, stirring constantly, 20 to 30 minutes. Polenta will become very thick while cooking. It is done when it comes away cleanly from the sides of the pot.

Pour polenta into a large wooden board or a large platter. Wet your hands and smooth out polenta evenly, about 2 inches thick. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes or until polenta solidifies.

TO PREPARE THE BAKED POLENTA:
Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 13x9-inch baking dish.

Cut completely cooled polenta into slices 2 inches wide and about 6 inches long. Put 1/3 of the sliced polenta in buttered baking dish. Spoon about 1 cup meat sauce over polenta.

Dot with about 2 Tablespoons butter and sprinkle with 4 to 5 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Repeat with two more layers of polenta, meat sauce, butter and Parmesan cheese, making
3 layers.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

*I sometimes substitute a dry, red Merlot for the dry white this recipe calls for. It makes a pleasant variation, and the rest of the bottle goes well with the polenta.

Servings: 6-8
Source: rec.food.recipes/Fred Towner/Dec. 9, 1998
Updated at Recipelink.com