Pasty polenta with fake sauce

 Pasty polenta with fake sauce

Polenta pasticciata con sugo finto is an easy and hearty recipe, with a very tasty sauce that features a vegetarian ragout that is absolutely worth trying. A unique dish perfect for when the temperatures drop.

INGREDIENTS

1. 280 g yellow flour
2. a level teaspoon of salt
3. 500 g of ripe tomatoes
4. 1 liter of water
5. 2 celery stalks
6. 1 onion
7. 1 carrot
8. 1 tuft of parsley
9. 100 g of grated Grana Padano cheese
10. 1 tuft of basil
11. extra virgin olive oil
12. salt
13. pepper

Polenta pasticciata con sugo finto is an easy, hearty recipe, perfect for when temperatures drop. A unique dish that has its trump card in the sauce. 

Sugo finto is a rustic and tasty meatless ragout, like the vegetarian ragout: very popular in Central Italy, especially in the Marche and Tuscany, it is also defined as a "poor" sauce due to the absence of animal proteins. It is a traditional peasant recipe which features a rich "parterre" of vegetables such as carrot, celery, onion and tomatoes, flavored with aromatic herbs and cooked slowly, which is used here as a condiment for layers of yellow polenta and Grana Padano cheese. 

In autumn and winter, there is no lack of robust dishes with polenta as the protagonist, such as polenta concia, enriched with speck, Asiago and Puzzone di Moena. If instead you want to try another version of veggie ragout, here is our lentil ragout.  

In order to prepare this polenta pasticciata with a fake sauce, first of all prepare the latter, as it will have to cook for about an hour. Wash the tomatoes and blanch them for a couple of minutes in a pot full of water. Peel them, remove the seeds and reduce them to small cubes, recovering their liquid by passing the waste through a sieve. 

Finely chop the celery, carrot, onion, parsley and basil. Heat three or four tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the chopped vegetables for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook semi-covered over low heat for about an hour.

At this point, prepare the polenta. Pour the lukewarm water into a saucepan, salt it and, stirring, add the flour. Keep stirring to avoid the formation of lumps and after 30-40 minutes the polenta should be cooked. In a casserole or bowl, place half of the polenta and half of the dressing on the bottom, adding plenty of grated Grana Padano cheese. 

Form the second layer first with the polenta and then with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with more cheese to taste.