Pancetta and Swiss Chard with Soft Polenta

I chose this recipe specifically because of the praise for poletna, and I am glad I did. For this recipe I used Boars Head Pancetta and Dellalo Polenta, which was more expensive, but I did notice that it was slightly smaller grain than cornmeal. This recipe was quick and easy to make, and very easy to make look elegant, especially if you shape the polenta with the 1/2 c. measure. My recipe turned out just a tad bit salty, and next time I would probably reduce unnecessary salt, or find a lower sodium pancetta, but for the time being I reduced the amount of pancetta that I added on top and that worked just fine. I found that the ingredients worked very well together, and I was quite surprised to pick up the flavors of the parmesan. When all was done, this recipe cost about 2.73 per meal. This also worked well as leftovers.

Oh my, this was so!! good. It had all the qualifications of a good recipe: easy to prepare, easy-to-get ingredients, not much chopping, and only 2 pans, all working together to make a really delicious meal that tastes much more complex than it is.. Fresh ingredients, simply and tastily prepared. I did make a few changes, using prosciutto instead of pancetta and adding a red bell pepper (for color and added vegetable bulk). I liked that one could use any appropriate green-I used collards (had them fresh, and increased cooking time by about a minute). The cheese was extra flavor, but not essential to the totality of the dish. This dish will work in any season. Excellent, but one could expect no less less from Michael Chiarello.

I decided to try this recipe, when I received swiss chard in my farm shares. I had no idea how all the flavors would combine, but together they were fantastic. This recipe has an Italian flair. It tastes surprisingly creamy, rich, and sinful for a CL recipe.

Yummyyumyumyumyum! This was a total CL win--super delicious, easy, and just slightly over 300 calories a serving. Of course, one of the ways CL manages to keep its stats so low is with portion control...and trust me, it is VERY difficult to control your portions on this yummy dish! Fortunately, the polenta is very filling. It's easy to make the polenta and topping simultaneously (which really you need to do so the polenta doesn't get hard and gross), as long as you make sure to prep and stage everything ahead of time (mis en place, for you cooking snobs) . I ended up using way more liquid than the polenta recipe called for, adding little by little as time went on. Use your judgement with this one--the polenta should be similar to risotto in viscosity--spreads out somewhat on the plate while still holding its shape. (portion x-posted from eatcookdine.blogspot.com)

First time making polenta. Heated polenta and mixed with broth from recipe. Used bacon. Good. Will make again next summer.