Dining out while dining in.
Americans love eating out. But in the past week, our culture of take-out and dining out has been turned upside down. Sit-down restaurants are closed, and in just a few days, all take-out and fast food will be closed as well. Suddenly, my email inbox is spammed with home-cooking advice and my Instagram is full of cooking posts. America has started cooking in—with a vengeance.
I love home cooking. It’s great that we’re all getting into the kitchen more. But I can’t help wondering: how long before we all get tired of it? How long before we’re sick of the meals that we’re comfortable whipping up and start craving the dishes that we used to order from our favorite Italian trattoria?
There seems to be something different about the food that we get in a restaurant, something special. The presentation, the intensity and layers of flavor, the multiple components on a plate . . . all these elements come together to create an experience that is very different from our typical home cooking. But that doesn’t mean it is unattainable for us at home, or even that challenging.
We can absolutely cook restaurant-style food from our home kitchens. These polenta cakes are a great example.
Polenta Cakes with Braised Collards and Roasted Tomatoes is definitely a restaurant-style dish. It has the multiple components, layered flavor profiles, and elegant presentation that we would expect to receive when dining out. At the same time, it is both simple and relatively quick to whip up at home.
Most restaurant dishes are made up of multiple components: the protein, the garnish (restaurant-speak for veg or starch that is served on the side), and then the sauce. This dish also includes three separate components—polenta cakes, collards, and tomatoes—but they can all be cooked ahead of time and stashed in the refrigerator. At dinner time, you simply reheat the collards and the tomatoes and crisp up a polenta cake in a skillet. You can plate up and be ready to eat in 10 minutes or less. The sheer speed and convenience make this a perfect weeknight dish.
(Side note: this is exactly how most restaurant kitchens operate. A prep kitchen preps all the individual components ahead of time in big batches and then sends them up to the line, where they are heated and finished appropriately, plated and served. Having a short “pick-up” time for a restaurant is key—and it’s definitely a plus on an evening when you just want a quick meal.)
These polenta cakes also deliver the deep richness and balance of flavors that we expect from a restaurant dish. That depth of flavor is achieved by using garlic and onion—aromatics geared to add tons of flavor—in the polenta and the greens, and adding umami-boosting ingredients like bacon and cheese to increase the savory finish of the dish. The roasted tomatoes add that pop of acidity and sweetness that balances and rounds everything out.
These polenta cakes are both easy to prepare and delicious and elegant enough when plated to make you feel like you’re in a restaurant. Take an hour to prep the different components and know you’re set up to enjoy a restaurant-quality dish any weeknight in just a few minutes. When you sit down to eat, don’t forget that a big part of dining out is the ambiance. Take an extra moment to actually set a table, instead of collapsing into your favorite couch corner. Use a nice plate. Turn on some music.
Who says that you have to go out to enjoy a restaurant-quality dinner?
Enjoy!
Polenta Cakes with Braised Greens and Roast Tomatoes
(Serves 4, with leftovers)
For the braised greens:
16 ounces collard greens, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 ounces bacon, chopped into ¼-inch thick slices or lardons
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ onion, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon chili flakes
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
For the roast tomatoes:
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Pepper
For the polenta cakes:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
¼ onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 cup yellow polenta
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup white cheddar, shredded
Pepper to taste
Method
For the braised greens:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season it well with salt (it should taste like the ocean) and add the collard greens. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until just tender. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the chopped bacon and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the fat is rendered and the bacon pieces have started to crisp. Remove bacon to a small plate, reserving the bacon fat in the pan.
Add the onion, the garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt to the bacon fat and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Stir in chili flake, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook one minute longer. Add in reserved bacon, collard greens, and chicken stock.
Bring the greens to a boil again, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust with additional salt or cayenne, as desired. Serve warm.
For the roast tomatoes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the halved cherry or grape tomatoes with vegetable oil, salt, and pepper to taste in a large bowl, then spread out into a single layer on a baking tray.
Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the skins are starting to wrinkle and the tomatoes are soft. Serve warm.
For the polenta:
Line a 9 x 13 pan with plastic wrap. Heat a large deep sauce pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil, and swirl the pot to evenly coat the bottom. Add the chopped onion and garlic with ¼ teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent. You don’t want them to brown.
Add chicken stock, milk, and 1 teaspoon salt to the onions and garlic and heat until the liquid comes to a simmer. Stirring constantly, slowly pour the polenta into the liquid. Bring the polenta back up to a simmer and continue to cook, stirring continually, until the polenta is thick, about 25-30 minutes.
Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in butter, shredded white cheddar, and pepper to taste. Stir until incorporated, then taste and adjust seasoning by adding more salt as needed.
Pour polenta into the prepared pan. (It will probably only cover about two-thirds of the pan, and if it’s thick enough it shouldn’t spread too much. You want the layer of polenta about ½ inch thick.) Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Remove the polenta from the refrigerator and cut out portions using a ring cutter or a paring knife. Gently deposit 2-4 polenta cakes into the pan. How many you will be able to fit depends on the size of your pan; don’t let them crowd each other. Cook on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden and crispy.
Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and additional polenta cakes, if desired; otherwise return remaining polenta to the refrigerator, where it will keep for 3-4 days.
Serve polenta cakes topped with collard greens and sprinkled with roast tomatoes.
Originally posted March 22, 2020.
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