Creamy Polenta Recipes:

Slovenian Beef Goulash & Polenta

Here is a great creamy polenta recipe that you might find quite appealing. Polenta used as sidedish with Slovenian beef goulash is a superb alternative to potatoes (which contain loads of starch), rice, or bread (which can each be very high in carbohydrates.)

Slovenian Beef Goulash & Creamy Polenta

Ingredients:
1. 3 cups water
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 1 tablespoon butter
4. 1 cup cornmeal

Ingredients for Goulash:
1. 1 cup chopped onion
2. ½ cup dry red wine
3. 1 cup veal or beef stock
4. 1 ½ pounds lean beef (can be round or trimmed chuck beef). Trim beef into 1 to 1/1/2 ounce cubes and make sure to dry with paper towels.
5. 4 slices (4 ounces total) of diced, hickory-smoked bacon.
6. 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
7. 2 cloves minced garlic
8. 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
9. 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
10. 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika (sweet)
11. 1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes mixed with tomato juice

Once you've obtained all the required ingredients, you must prepare the polenta. Take a medium sauce pan, fill with water, and bring to a boil. Next, whisk in cornmeal and salt. Then, cover the sauce pan and cook on low heat approximately 30 minutes. The next thing you should do is stir in 1 tablespoon of butter. Keep the creamy polenta warm until served.

For the goulash take a medium-sized skillet and prepare the diced bacon until crisp over moderate heat. Next, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place into a crock pot or Dutch, heat-proof oven.

With the same skillet, you must brown the meat by raising the heat from medium to medium-high for 6 to 10 minutes. After that, you will then remove the meat to put into the crock pot (or Dutch oven – whichever you prefer). You should then drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet or pan.

With the same skillet or pan, add the chopped onions and then saute until they turn almost completely clear in color. You can achieve this step in just under 3 minutes. Next, reduce over high heat and add the wine until it has almost completely evaporated.

The next step is to add the paprika, tomato paste, stock, salt, cayenne, and minced garlic. Make sure that you stir to blend these ingredients.

Once all ingredients have been combined, pour into the crock pot. Turn the crock pot on low and allow the ingredients to simmer for 8 hours.

For your Dutch oven: Pour broth mixture over bacon and then insert into oven. Bring to a simmer on your stove top, cover, and then reduce heat to a very low temperature and simmer on top of the stove for at least 1 ½ hours for beef. You can also check in periodically to see if the meat is done.

To serve, spoon polenta onto a plate and top with the beef goulash.

Special Tipp: Some people might also consider cooking polenta in the oven. It's best to use the oven when cooking other meats and vegetables and then serve immediately.

Casual and professional cooks usually prefer to prepare their polenta in a double boiler, which is a stove top method that requires much less attention than preparing polenta over direct heat.

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