This really takes comfort food to the next level. I had never, ever tried polenta until about 5 years ago. I don’t even know if I had ever even really heard about it until we were at Lola Restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. The polenta seriously blew my socks off and I couldn’t wait to try it at home. When I had it at the restaurant, the texture of the polenta was smooth. I wanted THIS polenta instead of my gritty polenta that I had fixed for dinner. I asked Michael Symon (owner of Lola) how they got the polenta so creamy. He simply said that it needed to be whipped at a constant speed and a stand mixer does that best job. So there, that’s my secret to my creamy polenta. Whip it in your stand mixer for a good 3-5 minutes and your outcome will be much better than whisking for just a minute or so.
I always seem to have ground beef on hand and my family secret homemade sauce so I topped it with the meatballs and sauce and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top. This would be an excellent and easy dish for a party or get-together.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 min |
| Servings |
people
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- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2/3 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
- 1 tsp fresh grated garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce I use a homemade sauce that has been a secret in my family for many years so I can't share 🙁
- 4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 TBS sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1- 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 2 TBS unsalted butter
Ingredients
Meatballs
Cheesy Polenta
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- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Add all ingredients to mixing bowl and mix together with bare hands (or gloves). Be sure to not over mix the ingredients but make sure all items are incorporated evenly.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or non-stick foil.
- Using an ice cream scoop, roll out meatballs about the size of a golf ball. If you don't have a scoop, you can just simply eye ball.
- Bake for 15 min.
- Take the meatballs out of the oven and let them simmer in your sauce while you prepare your polenta.
- Add 4 cups of chicken stock or broth to a large saucepan and allow to come to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and very slowly whisk in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Add in the salt and pepper and stir until combined for about 5-10 minutes, until thick.
- Stir in parmesan cheese and butter.