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Polenta with Glazed Baby Onions & Kale

Prep Time:  20 minutes

     Cook Time:  40-45 minutes

     Serves:  4

One of my favorite finds at the late-season farmers market is undersized onions. Harvested and cured when they’re a bit smaller than golf balls, they’re the classic addition to many a Door County fish boil. But they’re marvelous in other applications, too, like this one.

Ingredients

  • Butter for baking dish
  • 1 cup medium ground yellow cornmeal
  • 4 ½ cups unsalted chicken or vegetable stock, divided
  • 20 to 24 small onions (about 1 pound total)
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • Chopped leaves of 1 large or 2 medium bunches kale
  • 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • ¼ tsp. crushed red chile flakes (or more to taste)
  • 4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut an "X" in root end of onions, drop them in boiling water and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, cool and slice off ends, leaving a little root end intact so onions won't fall apart when cooked further. Remove skins.
  2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large baking dish. Add cornmeal, 4 cups of the stock and salt; stir briefly. Bake uncovered, without disturbing, until liquid is absorbed, 40 to 45 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt, and cook until nearly tender, 6 to 8 minutes, shaking pan frequently to prevent sticking. Add sugar and continue to cook, shaking pan, until onions are lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining stock and vinegar. Raise heat; cook until liquid becomes a glaze. Remove onions to a bowl.
  4. Wipe out skillet; add olive oil and heat over medium-high flame. Add kale, garlic, and chile flakes; cook, stirring often, until wilted and tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in onions; add salt and pepper to taste. When polenta is done, serve it in wide, shallow bowls topped with kale-onion mixture and blue cheese.

Notes