Venison Ragu with Polenta

We were lucky enough to be given a pound of ground venison from a co-worker of Jason's.  After some deliberation we decided to try out a ragu served over polenta.  The ragu took much longer to cook than I had expected!  I tried to have the dish ready by the time Jason got home after 8:00pm and it still wasn't ready.  We had to leave the pot simmering very low and run to the local bar for a burger for dinner!

Luckily, the ragu finally came together and we had the pleasure of inviting a few friends over the following evening to test out the recipe.  I must admit I was quite proud of myself with this one!  The ragu was really delicious, and I usually do not cook the meat in our house.  I also finally got the polenta cooked properly, something I have struggled with!  Ground beef could be substituted for the venison.

VENISON RAGU WITH POLENTA

FOR THE RAGU
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 clove garlic minced
1-2 Tbsp chopped rosemary
1 lb ground venison
1/2 cup red wine
1 bay leaf
1 can (14 oz) crushed roma tomatoes
3 oz cremini mushrooms sliced

FOR THE POLENTA
2 tsp salt
7 cups water
scant 2 cups polenta (not instant)
butter

--Ragu:  in a heavy bottomed pot (le creuset ideally) heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, season with a little salt and pepper and saute 15 minutes

--Add the venison and rosemary, and break up the venison with a wooden spoon to distribute the meat throughout the pot

--Raise heat to high and stir well, cooking until meat is browned

--Add the wine and cook until alcohol is evaporated (I go by smell)

--Add 1 1/2cups water and bay leaf and bring to a boil

--Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer about 45 minutes

--Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook over low heat until the sauce starts to become integrated. 

**This took a couple of hours over low heat but I was not using the ideal heavy bottomed pot.  I let the sauce go for quite awhile, letting the vegetables break down and waiting for the liquid to acquire a reddish-brownish tint.  I let the ragu cool and put the pot in the fridge overnight

--TO REHEAT:  Put pot back on stove top, add a little more red wine and water and heat over med-low heat

POLENTA

--Bring 7 cups water and salt to a boil in a large pot

--Add the polenta slowly, whisking constantly

--Reduce the heat to medium for about 5 minutes, until the polenta begins to thicken, then reduce the heat to low

--Cook stirring almost constantly with a long handled wooden spoon until the polenta comes away easily from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes

--Add a couple of thin slices of butter to polenta and stir.  Season with salt and pepper

Serve ragu over a polenta with a nice salad on the side!

Striped Bass with Jalapeno Vinaigrette and Polenta

Once again, I have to apologize for not blogging!  The long summer nights, bike rides, socializing with friends and incredible summer heat have all conspired to keep me out of the house and off of the computer!

I have plenty to catch up on including homemade rhubarbeque sauces, smoked pork shoulder and homemade pickles just to name a few.  And I'll get to all of it (eventually)!

This past Friday evening after a long hot day of working out, biking, trying to get in some tanning at the pool and house cleaning J and I decided to take it easy, stay home and cook ourselves a great meal.  J has been checking out cookbooks from the library which is actually brilliant.  You can test drive the recipes without having to commit to purchasing and our neighborhood library seems to have a great selection on-hand.  The past couple of weeks we've had Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook.  I have really come to enjoy Bobby Flay and his style of cooking and to appreciate the complicated and subtle combinations he is so good at.

The original recipe called for a poblano vinaigrette but as we couldn't get poblano peppers at the co-op and didn't realize we were out of honey we tweaked it a bit.  The recipe also called for a side of yellow pepper hominy which we adapted using instant polenta, fresh corn kernels and baby red peppers. 

The whole thing came out incredibly.  I would definitely put it up there with one of our best meals.  We did everything inside on the stove which was perhaps a mistake in a home with no central air during a heat wave but ended up being well worth it!

PAN SEARED STRIPED BASS WITH JALAPENO VINAIGRETTE AND PEPPER CORN POLENTA

For the jalapeno vinaigrette:
2 jalapeno peppers
3/4 Tbsp dark molasses
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Roast the peppers, put in a sealed bowl to let the skins steam, remove skins, destem and seed and chop roughly

Add all ingredients to a small food processor and blend.  Set aside

For the striped bass:
***A note on fish, find yourself a fish monger you like and trust.  We love Dirk's Fish on Elston.  Dirk himself is always there smiling, chatting and handing out samples.  They are committed to sourcing from safe fishing practicers and let you know what's in season.  I never question the quality of what I'm getting and was thrilled to see fresh striped bass, head on and all, in the display case and watch it be filleted to order. 

2 fillets of striped bass (about 1/2 lb total)
salt and pepper

Season the fish with salt and pepper and fry up in a hot pan on the stove.  Here's the secret, just let the fish sit there for a few minutes to cook in peace before you flip it!

For the polenta:

1/2 cup instant polenta
2 spring onions, diced
4-5 mini bell peppers, chopped
2 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob
Approx. 3 oz grated white cheddar cheese
Butter
Olive oil
salt and pepper

Cook the polenta as directed.

In a pan, heat the oil and saute the onions with salt and pepper until starting to soften.  Add the garlic and peppers and continue to cook.  Add the corn and cook for another couple of minutes. 

Add the vegetables to the cooked polenta, stir in a little butter and grate in the cheese.

To Serve:

Drizzle a little of the vinaigrette on a plate.  Set down the fillets and top with the rest of the vinaigrette.  Add a side of the polenta.

We poured a slightly oaked chardonnay with hints of pineapple from Kali Hart.  Typically, this is not my favorite style of chardonnay, but the pineapple in the wine worked perfectly with the heat of the jalapeno.

Polenta Squares Topped with Sausage Ragu

I made this dish this week as a quick and easy meal to get us through until Thanksgiving.  I love polenta and enjoy using it in lieu of pasta, especially as I am trying to cut down on my gluten intake.  This was kind of an ad hoc red sauce that turned out pretty well!

POLENTA SQUARES TOPPED with SAUSAGE RAGU

FOR THE RAGU

2 spicy italian sausage links

     -meat removed from the casings and crumbled

1 24oz can diced or crushed tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

olive oil
1 onion diced
1 carrot peeled and diced
1 celery stalk diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
splash of red wine
splash of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
fresh parsley and basil chopped ( less than 1/4 bunch of parsley and about 10 basil leaves)

FOR THE POLENTA

1 cup quick cooking polenta
3 cups water
salt
butter
parmigan cheese for grating

RAGU
In large sauce pan heat some olive oil and cook the onion, carrot and celery until onion is soft and translucent.

Add the sausage and garlic and cook until the meat is browned.

Add a healthy splash of red wine and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the tomato paste and canned tomatoes, dried basil, red pepper flakes and simmer about 40 minutes.

Add a splash of balsamic and stir in the fresh herbs.  Simmer for a few more minutes and remove from the heat.

POLENTA
While the ragu is simmering, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan. 

Turn off the heat, add a pinch of salt and whisk in the cup of polenta.  Continue stirring the polenta with a wooden spoon until it thickens.

Add a little butter and grate parmesan cheese into the polenta.

Pour the polenta out into a baking dish and smooth.  Turn on the broiler and put the polenta under the broiler until the top just begins to harden.

Pull out and let cool.

Cut the polenta into squares and top with a hearty helping of the ragu and sprinkle a little more parmesan on top for serving. 

We served this meal with the Roasted Cauliflower.