I'm really excited about today's recipe. And yes, it does come from Everyday Cooking. It's my own variation of the recipe on page 73 of the January/February 2010 issue. This was the best issue yet. I think I've successfully tried half the recipes in it.
The recipe is actually for Swiss chard instead of spinach, but I had the spinach because of yesterday's frittata, and so I used it instead. Although it would have been more colorful, I can't imagine the Swiss chard being any better tasting than the spinach. It was wonderful.
I don't know about you, but I didn't know what polenta was until I did a little research. Polenta is essentially corn meal mash. I had tried it once before using a recipe I found on line. I didn't think it was good at all. My dogs wouldn't even eat it, but the Everyday Food recipe was different enough, I thought I'd try it again. It was a bit lumpy but my snow-removal guy interrupted me as I was cooking it. And I also boiled the milk and broth over. But despite those screw ups, it was still really good.
The thing about polenta is that it'll keep the shape of whatever it's placed in while it cools. So you can set it up in all sorts of molds. Then, it's easily sliced and you can eat it that way, or pan fry or broil it. I'm looking forward to trying it with chili some time in the near future, maybe for lunch tomorrow.
This recipe is for 4 servings, but I didn't have quite enough pork, so I halved everything. I'll give you the original measurements and just keep in mind that I used spinach instead of Swiss chard.
I know some people don't really like vinegar, and if you don't, you might want to pass up this recipe. It's so good with it, I can't imagine it without it. And I really think it helps keep the pork deliciously tender.
Ingredients
4 cups skim milk
6 cups chicken broth
1 &1/3 cups corn meal
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloin (1 pound) cut into 12 equal slices
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 bunch Swiss chard (3/4 pound) stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces and leaves roughly chopped
2 to 3 teaspoons sherry vinegar (I used wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
Preparation
1. In a 4-quart pot, bring milk and 5 cups broth to a boil over medium-high. Gradually whisk in corn meal. Continue to whisk until polenta thickens. Reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until cooked, about 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, flatten pork pieces into medallions between the palms of your hands. Season pork with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1/5 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add half the pork and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil; repeat with 1.5 teaspoons oil and pork.
3. Return skillet to heat and add teaspoon oil, onions, chard stems, and 1/4 cup broth. Cook, scraping up browned bits, until vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes (reduce heat to prevent burning as needed. Add chard leaves and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar, 3/4 cup broth, and pork with any accumulated juices; cook until liquid has almost evaporated, 4 minutes.
4. Pour 4 cups polenta into lightly oiled 8-inch baking dish; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Stir butter into remaining polenta, season pork and vegetables with salt and pepper and serve over polenta.
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