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If there is an Italian equivalent to mashed potatoes, something you can serve with—or under—just about anything, it’s got to be polenta. Maybe it’s the Italian in me, but i like its texture and the sweet corn flavour a lot more. Spinach makes it somewhat virtuous and also so pretty. This is rich, so serve it in small portions.
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking polenta
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup freshly grated pecorino
8 oz mascarpone
3 tbsp unsalted butter
5 oz baby spinach, roughly chopped
In a Dutch oven, combine the chicken broth, olive oil, and garlic with 2 cups water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the polenta. Season with the salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, pecorino, mascarpone, and butter. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Fold in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Excerpted from Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita by Giada de Laurentiis. Copyright © 2018 by GDL Foods Inc. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.