Best Stinky Polenta Roast Chicken Crispy Kale Red Wine Balsamic Demi Recipes

STINKY POLENTA, ROAST CHICKEN, CRISPY KALE, RED WINE BALSAMIC DEMI

Steps:

• For the roast chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Put a cast-iron pan over high heat until hot. Coat the pan with olive oil, add the chicken skin-side down and cook until the skin is crispy, about 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet fitted with a rack. Roast until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes depending on size.
• For the red wine balsamic demi: In a saucepan over high heat, add a little olive oil. Add the thyme, bay leaves, carrots, celery and onions and sweat the vegetables about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the red wine, then add the balsamic and dark chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add the tomato paste and reduce to a simmer. Add the sugar and simmer to reduce the sauce to a glaze consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain and reserve.
• For the stinky polenta: Bring the dark chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate the polenta into the stock, stirring vigorously. When fully incorporated, lower the heat to simmer. Cook, stirring frequently to make sure the polenta doesn't burn, until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
• For the crispy kale: Pour enough canola oil into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan to come about a third of the way up. Heat the oil until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 325 degrees F.
• Add the julienned kale to the oil and fry about 2 minutes; the kale should still be very green and crisp, not brown at all. Drain on paper towels and set aside for garnish.
• To finish the polenta: Add the butter, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano, mascarpone and additional water or the chicken cooking juices if needed. Finish with the white truffle oil and add salt and pepper to taste.
• To plate, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the glaze into 5 wide bowls. Put some polenta on top. Slice each chicken breast and put on top of the polenta. Garnish with crispy kale and serve.

KALE POLENTA

Steps:

• Combine 7 cups of water and the salt in a medium pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Gradually add the polenta, whisking as you pour. Keep whisking until the polenta starts to thicken and looks like it's one with the water, about 2 minutes. Turn the heat to low (the polenta should steam and tremble, but only rarely erupt with bubbles) and cook, stirring every now and again, until the polenta is tender but still coarse in texture, about 45 minutes.
• Stir in the olive oil, kale puree, and most of the Parmesan and keep cooking, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes more. Take the pot off the heat and fold in 2 tablespoons of the mascarpone (it's nice to run into a little pocket of mascarpone, so don't stir too much). Top with the remaining mascarpone and Parmesan, and as much black pepper as you'd like.
• Put 4 of the garlic cloves in a medium pot, fill it with water, cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add enough kosher salt so that the water tastes slightly salty and add the kale, prodding to submerge it. Cook uncovered until the kale is tender and tears easily, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Fish out the boiled garlic cloves from the pot and reserve them. Drain the kale in a colander and when it's cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as you can. Roughly chop the kale, the boiled garlic, and the raw garlic.
• Combine the kale, garlic, and Maldon salt in a food processor. Process, stopping occasionally to prod and stir, for about 45 seconds, then add the oil and process, stirring once or twice, to a fairly smooth puree. Whenever I make this at one of my restaurants, I use a Vita-prep to make the puree silky smooth, but I like a slightly coarse puree too.
• The puree keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH POLENTA AND KALE CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475˚ F. Lightly brush two rimmed baking sheets with olive oil. Toss the chicken with the garlic and sage on one baking sheet; season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Toss the kale with the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt on the other baking sheet. Roast the chicken skin-side up until cooked through and the skin is browned and crisp, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, roast the kale, tossing halfway through, until browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring 5 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add 1 teaspoon salt. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, whisking, until the polenta thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Whisk in the Parmesan and butter. Serve the chicken with the kale and polenta.