Parmesan Polenta Cake with Mushroom & Sausage Hash
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I’m taking a break from my sugar high {due to too many of these bad boys} to bring you a very fancy dinner with some not so fancy ingredients. {Love these kinds of meals!} This is the kind of dinner that you can dress up if you have company, or just throw on your plate if you’re in a hurry. And, it tastes good too. That’s always a plus, right?
Parmesan + Polenta = yummy.
Sausage + mushroom = amazingness.
Put the two together?
It’s like heaven in your mouth. Creamy polenta with salty italian sausage with some extra veggies….ya know, to make it healthy! Ha! Did I mention I made a little cream sauce amongst the hash too? Yeah. That was the right decision. {And that’s when I lost the whole ‘healthy dinner’ concept.}
It’s ok to splurge every once in a while, right?
Anyways, we loved this meal and think you all will too.
A few recipe notes: I used precooked Italian CHICKEN sausage. It was a new organic brand of sausages I found at my grocery store. Feel free to use any kind you like. I also used a small package baby bella mushrooms {you know, those blue styrofoam trays with the prewashed mushrooms inside}. That package was 8 ounces. Don’t be thrown off by that increment. I think that’s just about it! Happy cooking! 🙂

Parmesan Polenta Cake with Mushroom & Sausage Hash
Ingredients
for the polenta:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup polenta
- 3 tablespoon butter divided
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese use the real stuff!
for the hash:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms quartered
- 4 precooked Italian chicken sausages sliced
- salt & pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- parmesan cheese for garnish
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- For the polenta {*see recipe notes below}- Bring water, milk and salt to boil. {Watch it carefully!} Whisk in polenta and cook 25-30 minutes until very thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon butter and parmesan cheese. Grease a 9x9 square baking dish and spread polenta evenly into dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dinner.
- For the hash- Place large skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Stir in onions and carrots and saute 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, mushrooms and sausage and cook another 10 minutes until veggies and sausage have browned. Stir in seasonings and de-glaze the pan with chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream. Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.
- For serving- Preheat large {preferrably non-stick} skillet to medium high heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in pan. Remove polenta from fridge and cut into 4 large circles {or cut into squares to have no ugly edges to fry up!} Place in hot pan and fry 2-3 minutes per side or until browned and crispy. Remove from pan and place polenta circles onto servings platter. Top with hash, more parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Serve hot.





I am obsessed with this recipe I have been coming back to it for YEARS and every time it is a hit. It has been an absolute staple in my arsenal of good cookin!
yes, I’m definitely making this tonight or tomorrow for family dinner!
[…] This polenta and hash recipe from Lauren at Lauren’s Latest is as tasty as any dish you’ll find at a fancy brunch spot. It’s actually better, because it hasn’t been marred with the addition of a runny fried egg. […]