Butternut Squash Polenta with Polenta and Gremolata

By TPMay

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 cup cornmeal or polenta**
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 10 leaves fresh sage
• 1 clove garlic
• zest + juice of 1 orange
• salt + pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth , divided
• 2 cups whole milk , divided

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Remove the top from the squash, halve lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Place on a cookie sheet and pop into the oven until the meat of the squash is tender., about an hour.
While the squash roasts, prep the gremolata: Tear the parsley off their stems and pulse together with the sage, garlic, orange zest, and juice in the food processor. Blend until everything is chopped, season to taste with salt and pepper, and blend together again. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until service.
When the squash is soft, scoop out the meat with a spoon, and blend to a fine consistency with 1 cup of milk in the food processor. Pour the puree into a large pot with 3 cups of broth and bring to a boil.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, remaining cup of broth, remaining cup of milk, baking soda, salt, and pepper. When the puree starts to boil, then, whisk in the cornmeal.
Whisk continuously, until the cornmeal starts to thicken. Then, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove the lid, whisk in the Parmesan and nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a generous drizzle of fresh gremolata.
Tips + Tricks
**The cornmeal you find in the baking aisle and the polenta you find in the international aisle are the same; use what you can find. For this recipe, I like a mid-coarse ground cornmeal. If you want even more texture you can use a coarse ground.
**Gremolata is more of a garnish or topping to dishes, so tasting it by itself might be a bit jarring. Use it with heavy dishes like osso bucco or butternut polenta.
Crown the hearty polenta with a generous serving of pork tenderloin.