Italian Polenta Casserole

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 12 ounces bulk hot italian sausage (or links removed from casings)
• 12 ounces lean ground beef
• 16 ounces chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or more to taste)
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree
• 1 (1 lb) eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 cups water
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (1 14 to 14 1/2-ounce can)
• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese or 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus
• freshly grated pecorino romano cheese (for topping) or 3/4 cup parmesan cheese (for topping)

Recipe

• 1 in 5- to 6-quart dutch oven, cook sausage and ground beef on medium-high 5 to 6 minutes or until browned, stirring and breaking up meat with side of spoon. with slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to medium bowl.
• 2 to same dutch oven, add onion; cook on medium 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. add tomatoes with their puree; heat to boiling on high, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. add eggplant and meat; cover and cook 5 minutes on medium. uncover and cook 10 minutes longer or until eggplant is tender, stirring occasionally.
• 3 meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees f. in microwave-safe 4-quart bowl, with wire whisk, combine water, broth, cornmeal, and salt. microwave on high 15 to 20 minutes or until cornmeal mixture is very thick. after first 5 minutes of cooking, whisk vigorously until smooth (mixture will be lumpy at first); whisk 2 more times during remaining cooking time. remove from microwave, whisk in romano.
• 4 spoon 2 cups hot polenta into each of two 1 1/2-quart shallow casseroles. spread polenta over bottom and up sides of casseroles. spoon filling over polenta. spread remaining polenta around casserole edge to form a rim. sprinkle with a couple tablespoons additional grated romano, parmesan, or asiago.
• 5 bake one casserole 30 minutes or until hot. let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. (freeze the other one for later.).
• 6 makes 8 servings (in 2 casserole dishes).
• 7 note: if you want to lower the fat content, use turkey italian sausage. make sure to use quality sausage - i've used my favorite, our freshly made merguez, and good sausage really makes a difference.