Recipe #34: Prosciutto Mozzarella Polenta

The last time I ate polenta had to have been when I was a child and still eating every meal that my mom would prepare and serve. My mother would make beef and vegetable stew in her crock pot. She'd make the polenta and then serve the stew over the top. As a child I was never an enormous fan of that particular dish. But I do remember quite favorably getting to slice thick pieces of the polenta for breakfast the following morning. After frying the pieces in butter I would pour a generous amount of maple syrup over the top. On reflection, I think I would have enjoyed my mother's polenta stew much more had I not been so obsessed with sugar.

I distinctly remember sneaking into the food cabinet and stealing the bottle of Aunt Jemima's Maple Syrup. I'd run into the dining room and literally chug as much of the syrup as I possibly could before I would return the bottle of syrup back to the cabinet...I'm pretty shocked that did not make me an instant diabetic! Just for the record though, my taste buds have changed dramatically since I was five-years-old. From that age until now I have almost always chosen salt over sugar. So I thought I would re-explore this Italian staple now that my mom's beef stew and polenta combination sounds oddly satisfying.

I got my recipe inspiration from: http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2011/05/polenta-rounds-with-caramelized-onion-mozzarella-and-prosciutto/. I had almost an entire brick of fresh mozzarella from the Caprese Pizza that I needed to use. In addition, I already had chicken broth, brown sugar, and several of the other ingredients to re-use from previous recipes. This is definitely one great aspect to cooking every single day.

One pro is that you rack up a lot of ingredients that you end up needing again. One con is that it can still be very expensive to buy every single herb and oil. So I definitely lucked out on this recipe since I did not have to purchase too many new ingredients. And even though the crappy burners at my apartment decided to stop working halfway through this recipe, it turned out well and it reminded me of how much I really enjoy eating polenta!

Ingredients:

* 8 oz of Instant Polenta
* 2 cups of Chicken Broth
* 2 cups of Milk (I used 2%)
* 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese
* 1 1/2 Chopped Onion (White or Red)
* 1/2 tsp of Butter
* 1/3 cup of Brown Sugar
* 6 oz Fresh Mozzarella
* 1/4 lb of Prosciutto
* 0.33 oz of Fresh Dill




Cooking Directions:

First preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium sauce pan add the chicken broth and milk over high heat.

Let boil and reduce heat to low. Add the instant polenta and parmesan cheese. Stir for about 3 minutes until mixture is thick.

Immediately remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a 9 inch pan. Set aside to let thicken and congeal.

In a large saute pan add the butter and the brown sugar. Once melted add the chopped onions and let caramelize until soft and golden brown.

Take the polenta and cut into 8 pieces. On a baking sheet spray with Canola Oil.

Remove each individual polenta slice and place onto the baking sheet.

Take a large spoonful of the caramelized onions and place over the top of each polenta slice.

On your cutting board slice the mozzarella into thick long slices.

Add one slice on top of the caramelized onions.

Then place one slice of prosciutto over the top of each mozzarella slice.

Place in the oven for roughly 5 minutes or until the mozzarella cheese is melted.

Chop the dill and sprinkle over the top of the prosciutto and then serve hot.