Polenta Stuffed with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

I was a huge fan of this polenta stuffed with sausage and broccoli rabe (aka Italian casserole) from Modern Potluck. I've seen numerous recipes for polenta, Italian sausage, and broccoli rabe, but none that combine them together in quite this same manner. I also haven't found any that go the extra mile of baking everything together to ensure a creamy polenta crust, gooey, stringy Provolone, nutty Parmesan, and a well-seasoned, slightly spicy meat and vegetable filling. This modernized casserole is clearly more than the sum of its parts. 

It is a good thing it's so delicious, because it's not the fastest main I've posted on this blog. Polenta stuffed with sausage and broccoli rabe takes some work, starting with an arm workout while you first grate a mountain of Parmesan, then whisk your polenta, then squeeze every possible drop of water out of the simmered broccoli rabe. It's not a complicated recipe, but prep work takes a while since you can't ignore a cooking pot of polenta, plus you'll be dirtying multiple pots, pans, cutting boards, and a food processor in the name of this recipe. Rest assured, the effort is worth it.

You make this in a 9-by-13" pan and it's going to look like a lot. But it won't be too much, even for a family of 2-4. I served Kirstin's polenta stuffed with sausage and broccoli rabe for a dinner party of 10 where the table offerings included Chinese chicken salad, pumpkin beer turkey chili, sweet focaccia with oranges, potato bread, spinach artichoke dip, and kale-fennel slaw. [This sounds like a lot of food for 10, right? It was... In my defense, I was expecting double that number before winter colds caused last minute cancellations]. Despite all the bounty we had amongst the ten of us, this polenta casserole was decimated. The recipe says it serves 6-10, so I'm thinking that's pretty spot on.

If you are not planning to feed a crowd? This polenta casserole will make anyone's lunch box (child or adult) a happier place. Cut it into single-serve squares and freeze the leftovers for a rainy day. You'll be happy you did.

Are you someone who avoids broccoli rabe because you find it to be too bitter? This method of cooking the broccoli rabe should eliminate all bitterness. However, you could also simply use broccolini, which is a slightly sweeter replacement, or soak your broccoli rabe before cooking for 30 minutes in ice water.

I modified this recipe a tiny bit, using 1 cup of whole milk plus 6 cups of water to cook the polenta, rather than the 7 cups of water only. My dad cooks his polenta in all whole milk, and it's the creamiest polenta you'll ever eat. You could do the same thing here too. I also upped the amount of Parmesan I used at each step, working with a total of 3 cups rather than 2 cups originally called for in the cookbook. I really enjoyed these modifications, and you should feel free to experiment with what works best for your family in terms of the quantity of milk used and the quantity of Parmesan.

Original source: Modern Potluck

Polenta Stuffed with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: modern potluck

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter plus more for greasing the pan
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup whole milk
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups medium-grind polenta or cornmeal
• 4-6 ounces parmigiano-reggiano cheese finely grated (2-3 cups)
• 1 large bunch (about 1 pound) broccoli rabe or broccolini halved crosswise
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage casings removed
• 1 pound provolone cheese sliced

Instructions

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• In a large pot, bring the water and whole milk to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt. Slowly stream in the polenta, whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to medium-low, continue to simmer the polenta until thick, tender, and creamy, about 20 minutes.
• Add the 4 tablespoons of butter and one-third of the Parmigiano cheese (⅔ cup), stir to melt in.
• Quickly ladle 3 cups of the polenta (about half) into the prepared baking dish, evening out the top with a spatula. Refrigerate until firm.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a heavy-duty skillet, bring 1-inch of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe or broccolini, cover, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes until the broccoli rabe is bright green and only just barely tender.
• Drain the broccoli rabe in a colander, running it under cold water to shock it and halt the cooking.
• Using your hands, squeeze the leaves, wringing as much moisture as possible from the leaves as possible. Transfer the broccoli rabe to a food processor, pulsing several times to finely chop (or simply finely chop with a knife).
• Wipe the heavy-duty skillet out to remove any moisture, add the olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, increasing the heat to high, and cook. While stirring, break the meat up with a spoon, until it is browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic to the skillet, continue sauteeing until fragrant and softened, about 1 minute.
• Lower the heat to medium, add the chopped greens, cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally to scrape up browned bits, until the greens no longer release water and are quite soft, about 7 minutes. Add another third (⅔ cup) of the Parmigiano, continue cooking until the cheese melts in. Remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Remove the pan from the refrigerator, cover the chilled polenta with half of the provolone slices in a single layer (you may need to tear some pieces to accomplish this). Spread the sausage and broccoli rabe filling on top of the provolone. Cover with the remaining half of the provolone slices.
• Gently rewarm the remaining polenta, if necessary adding ¼ of water to loosen it. Spoon the warmed polenta on the provolone and even out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with the final third of the Parmigiano.
• Bake for 35 minutes, until the filling bubbles and the cheese on top is browned. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

The casserole can be prepared and assembled the day before baking. Keep in the refrigerator before bringing it out while the oven preheats and then follow baking instructions.