CookEat Recipe
Layered Milk Polenta with Veal Ragù and Balsamella
Thin slices of firm milk polenta layered with a tomato-free diced-veal ragù, a light white sauce and Parmesan, then baked until lightly browned.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 200 g coarse cornmeal for polenta; About 800 ml milk for the firm polenta, plus a little more if necessary; 150 g lean veal, cut into very small dice; 50 g cured pork belly, finely chopped; 75 g butter total: 40 g for the ragù, 25 g for the white sauce and about 10 g between the layers; Quarter of a medium onion, finely chopped; Half a carrot, finely chopped; 2 small celery stalks, finely chopped; A very small pinch plain flour, about 1 g, for the ragù; About 250 ml broth, plus a little as needed; Half a tablespoon plain flour, about 5 g, for the white sauce; 250 ml additional milk for the white sauce; 40 g grated Parmesan; Salt and black pepper; A small pinch nutmeg, optional.
Step 2
Gradually stir the cornmeal into the 800 ml simmering milk. Cook gently, stirring frequently to prevent catching, until thoroughly tender and firm, about 35–45 minutes or according to the grain. Add a little hot milk if necessary to complete cooking. Salt near the end. Spread in a shallow tray about two fingers deep, approximately 3 cm. Let heavy steam subside briefly and refrigerate promptly until cold and firm. Cut the slab into strips and then diagonally into almond-shaped slices about 5 mm thick; the final thin slices are distinct from the thicker cooling slab.
Step 3
While the polenta cooks and cools, put the diced veal, chopped cured pork belly, onion, carrot, celery and 40 g butter together in a saucepan. Cook until the meat takes colour. Stir in the tiny pinch of flour, then gradually add broth. Season with pepper, very little salt if needed and optional nutmeg. Simmer gently for about 35–45 minutes, adding broth as needed, until the veal is tender and fully cooked to at least 71°C, leaving a little flowing sauce. This is the complete tomato-free ragù method from the referenced Bolognese recipe.
Step 4
For the balsamella, melt 25 g butter with half a tablespoon flour, stirring until the flour just begins to turn pale hazelnut. Gradually stir in the additional 250 ml milk. Simmer gently, stirring, for about 8–10 minutes until smooth and cream-like. Add a little milk if too thick; it should spread easily. This is half the milk-and-butter quantity of the referenced sauce, with the egg-sized butter piece interpreted as about 50 g in the full batch.
Step 5
Sprinkle a little Parmesan on the bottom of an ovenproof serving dish. Add a layer of thin polenta slices, then Parmesan, ragù and balsamella. Repeat until used up, making a shallow mound. Scatter only the remaining small 10 g butter in pieces among the layers, since both sauces are already rich. Bake at 200°C for about 20–25 minutes until lightly browned and the centre reaches 74°C. Serve hot.
Step 6
For the ragù alternatives mentioned in its source, add about 10 g dried mushrooms after soaking them in warm water for 20 minutes, draining and rinsing off grit, then chopping and simmering in the ragù for at least the last 15–20 minutes. Alternatively add a few thin slices of truffle near the end. A chopped chicken liver may instead cook with the veal from the beginning, with the entire mixture reaching 74°C. About 60 ml cream may be stirred into the finished ragù for the optional richer version. These additions are optional; the main layered polenta uses the plain ragù and does not require all of them.
Step 7
For the separate filled-mould version, this adaptation uses 4 legally sold farmed quail, about 600–800 g total, in place of the unspecified historical small game birds. Do not rinse the raw birds. Brown them in 20 g butter with half a chopped onion, add about 250 ml broth, cover and simmer gently for roughly 35–50 minutes or longer until tender and the thickest meat of each whole bird reaches 82°C without touching bone. Remove every bone while the birds are still hot and return the meat to a little reduced cooking liquid. Line a buttered ovenproof mould with the prepared polenta slices, fill with the hot quail stew and close with more polenta. Use Parmesan and the balsamella between the polenta layers if desired, omitting the veal ragù in this alternative. Bake at 190°C for about 25–35 minutes until the centre reaches 74°C, rest briefly, unmould carefully and serve promptly. Bird choice, quantities, stew details and oven method are explicit practical additions to the source’s brief suggestion.
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