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! 🙂

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5 from 1 vote

Parmesan Polenta Cake with Mushroom & Sausage Hash

Creamy parmesan Polenta Cake, with salty Italian sausage and extra veggies, makes a delicious family or company dinner.

servings 4

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

Notes

Feel free to use quick cooking polenta to make your job quicker. You can also forgo the refrigeration process and serve the polenta from the pot.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 1711mg | Potassium: 550mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 6523IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 212mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: polenta cake