Basque Sausage with Creamy Polenta
This sausage dinner shows off the rich, hearty country cooking of southern France and northern Spain.

Prep Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
1 hr
Servings:
Makes 6 main-dish servings.
Ingredients
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2-1/2 lb. sweet and/or hot Italian sausage links
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1 large onion, coarsely chopped
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4 cloves garlic, minced
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1 14-oz. can chicken broth
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2 Tbsp. lemon juice
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3/4 tsp. salt
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1/2 tsp. dried marjoram, crushed
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1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
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2 medium red and/or green sweet pepper, cut into strips
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10 oz. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped (about 10 cups)
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1 Tbsp. vinegar
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1 recipe Creamy Polenta
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1/3 cup cold water
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1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1.
In a very large skillet cook sausage over medium-high heat about 8 minutes or until browned, turning once. Remove from skillet, reserving any drippings. Cut sausage into 2-inch pieces (sausage will not be cooked through). Set sausage aside.
2.
In the same skillet cook onion and garlic in reserved drippings about 3 minutes or until tender (add olive or cooking oil to skillet, if necessary). Carefully add broth and lemon juice. Add salt, marjoram, and ground black pepper. Return sausage to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add sweet peppers; simmer, covered, 10 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the sausages registers 160 degrees F.
3.
Meanwhile, in a 4-quart Dutch oven, bring a small amount of salted water to boiling. Add spinach. Cook, covered, until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain spinach; transfer to a bowl. Stir in vinegar. Set aside.
4.
Using a slotted spoon transfer sausage mixture to one half of a serving platter. Spoon Creamy Polenta onto the other half; cover to keep warm. In a screw-top jar combine 1/3 cup water and the flour; cover and shake well. Whisk into cooking liquid in skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 1 minute more. Spoon some of the sauce over Creamy Polenta and sausage mixture. Top sausage mixture with spinach. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 6 main-dish servings.
Creamy Polenta
In a saucepan bring 2-1/2 cups water to boiling. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine 1 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 cup cold water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture returns to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, until mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Before serving, stir in 1/4 cup milk until mixture is creamy. Gently stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons purchased dried tomato tapenade or basil pesto, swirling with a spoon or spatula to achieve a marbled appearance.
Nutrition information
Calories 709, Total Fat 44 g, Saturated Fat 18 g, Cholesterol 130 mg, Sodium 1871 mg, Carbohydrate 32 g, Fiber 4 g, Protein 33 g. Daily Values: Vitamin C 123%, Calcium 12%, Iron 21%.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
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