An Easy Taste Of Piedmont

 Years ago it was hard to make a good pot of polenta and then fry it up into tasty buttery rounds. It was equally hard to make a good salsa de zucca or squash sauce. Now these ingredients are easy to find and a snap to make.

Polenta e saucisse is a fall dish loved by everyone in Piedmonte. My school's  womens' volleyball team consist of such  alon with a few f=girls from the Veneto province.I wanted to make them something to alleviate their homesickness - What better than this . Polenta e saucisse  with squash sauce. There is a catch .This is vegan.

The polenta is from Melissa's Organci C polenta. The sausage Is from Violife and the sauce is Lidl's squash.
The polentas was the hardest to cook.

There had to be about thirty or forty rounds, cut with all different widths (polenta logs can be tricky to work with). 

I frried them in typical Piedmontese style - inna mix of butter and olive oil. Polenta rounds are a quick fry up. Seven minutes on both sides. That's it.

I wanted the sausage to be ultra crispy so I cooked them for about seventeen to eighteen minutes at 390 degrees Farenheit in my ir fryer.  Air fry them first for eight minutes , turn over then finish the frying. The extra minutes gives them a nice bite and I think brings out the mix of plant based meat and spices nicely.

The sauce is from Lidl. I tasted it and fell in love. This has a mix of peppers and tomato paste in it to lessen that sometimes sweet ,squash-y taste.I am actually making this tomorrow with my own polenta  rounds.I put a tablespoon of vegan I Can't Believe It's Not Butter in to give the texture a smoother consistency.It  can be left plain too.

I'm hoping our volleyball team tastes this and is reminded of Northern Italy in the fall. There is a richness to this easy to make dish. It's the perfect meal for anyone,. 

GO KNIGHTS!!!!🏆🏆🏆