Make the Bread, Buy the Butter - Jennifer Reese [109]
3. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and pour into the hot sauce and stir for 1 minute. Add the cheese; salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
4. Serve immediately.
Serves 6 to 8
LAYERED POLENTA
This also comes from Barr’s cookbook, but I’ve made some changes over the years.
Make it or buy a Costco lasagna? Make it.
Hassle: Lots of work
Cost comparison: $2.08 per serving. Hard to beat the price on that $1.00 per serving Costco lasagna!
TOMATO SAUCE
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 big onion, finely chopped
Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
Finely chopped fresh basil (optional)
¼ pound pancetta, homemade or store-bought
1 tablespoon kosher salt
¾ pound coarse polenta
1½ cups grated Parmesan
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking pan
½ pound fresh mozzarella, store-bought (homemade would be wasted), cut into 1-inch pieces
1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the onions in the oil until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick, about 30 minutes. Stir in the basil, if using, about 5 minutes before you’re done.
2. In a medium skillet, fry the pancetta over low heat until it is brown and crisp. Set aside.
3. In another large saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil, add the salt, and add the cornmeal in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the polenta masses together and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pancetta plus its fat and ½ cup of the Parmesan. Pour onto a cookie sheet and smooth the surface with a wet spatula. Let cool until set. Cut into 2-inch squares.
4. Squeeze the sausage out of the casings into the skillet in which you fried the pancetta. Fry, breaking it into smallish clumps and cooking until all traces of pink are gone.
5. Generously butter a 9 by 13-inch pan. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom. Arrange one-third of the polenta on the tomato sauce in a single layer. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and half the sausage over the polenta. Spoon on one-third of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle one-third of the Parmesan over the sauce. Dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Repeat with half the remaining polenta, all the remaining mozzarella and sausage, half the remaining sauce, half the grated cheese, and 1 tablespoon butter. Top with the remaining polenta, tomato sauce, and grated cheese. Dot with the last tablespoon of butter. You can now put it in the refrigerator and bake it up to 5 days later.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Bake the polenta, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the dish is piping hot throughout.
Serves 12
VADOUVAN MAC ‘N’ CHEESE
I found that as the working parent of small children at the turn of the most recent century, boxed mac ’n’ cheese was as essential to my sanity as Dragon Tales and sauvignon blanc. It was easy, affordable, and much loved, and because it was served hot, I could pass it off as a wholesome dinner, which I knew it wasn’t. I didn’t do that very often. I would have needed less sauvignon blanc if I had.
My children are growing up now and their tastes have broadened impressively. The first time I met my editor, she pressed upon me a recipe for something called “Vadouvan Mac ’n’ Cheese.” Vadouvan is a muddy-yellow seasoning mix of curry leaves, onions, turmeric, and sundry other spices. I went straight from our lunch to an Indian grocery to buy vadouvan and when I got home I made the mac ’n’ cheese.
“This isn’t macaroni and cheese,” said Owen. “It’s green.” Actually, it was a jaundiced yellow, but I didn’t correct him. He was hungry, so he took a bite, and approximately