I can’t think of a better dish for a cold wintery night. Creamy, cheesey, polenta laced with roasted butternut squash and chopped spinach. Guaranteed to warm you up from the inside out. Comfort food in the most delicious way!
Chicago received it’s first snow yesterday and with temperatures predicted mostly in the teens all week the reality of winter is in full force, so it’s comfort foods that are calling my name.
Hearty enough to eat alone or with a nice green salad or it’s just plain wonderful as a side dish next to baked chicken or roasted pork.
Have leftovers? No problem, you can easily morph your leftover butternut squash polenta into another meal by topping it with chunks of Italian sausage and roasted peppers, this is crazy good!
But if all you have left is just a teeny bit, no worries, you can mold it into a small ramekin, warm it up, unmold and plop a cooked egg on the top, my favorite!
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into small dice and pre-roasted
- 1 cup, instant style polenta
- ¾ cup chopped fresh spinach
- ½ cup or so grated parmesan or romano cheese
- 2 cups chicken broth, homemade or low sodium store bought
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- extra olive oil for drizzling
- Roast squash at 400 degrees on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast around 15 minutes or until slightly golden. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan add the broth, water, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and slowly start whisking in the polenta, keep whisking so as not to get lumps, it will bubble and squirt, be careful!
- Switch over to a wooden spoon and keep stirring until thickened, remove from heat.
- Fold in the grated cheese, the spinach and the butternut squash, drizzling more olive oil all over the top.
- Serve immediately.
- Leftover polenta can be warmed up the next day by adding more water or broth, or leftovers can be molded into ramekins.
Well I’m officially “turkeyed out” until next year so it’s time to change it up here with a nice pot of mussels! Did you know that mussels are an inexpensive, sustainable shellfish that gives a boost to your immune system and your brain? Many people shy away from mussels thinking they taste fishy, to the contrary, if you buy them fresh from a good source they have a nice clean meaty flesh and smell just like the ocean plus they take on all the flavors that you use to cook with them.
I normally make my mussels with a sauce that has lots of shaved garlic, white wine, red pepper, a few ladles of marinara or cherry tomatoes and that’s it, sometimes pasta on the side sometimes not. This time I made it with Fregola, the Italian version of Israeli couscous. Fregola comes from Sardinia, it’s a firmer semolina pasta shaped like little pearls that has a toasted and nutty flavor. 
This is rustic eating at it’s best, my favorite. Just put the pan in the middle of the table, have plenty of napkins, your wine close at hand, a separate bowl for your shells, and dig in!
The juice of the mussels, the garlic, wine and tomatoes is what flavors the Fregola pasta, every bite is a delight! 
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
