Author Notes
Since it's getting closer to summer and life has gotten hectic my motto the past couple of weeks has been either 'can be made in 15 minutes or less' or 'can be made in the wee hours of the morn before the hoards descend.' Make the polenta the night before or in the morning before you go to work and fry them up in the afternoon. Since the men in my life (at least the 1 year old and 4 year old) have sensitive palates, I reduced the number of chipotles. If it were up to me I would have dumped in the whole can.....feel free to monkey around! —Niknud
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Ingredients
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6 cups
water
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1.5 teaspoons
salt
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2 cups
polenta
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2 cups
chopped chicken (from your weekend roast)
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4
chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
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2 teaspoons
epazote
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2 tablespoons
butter (unsalted)
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bacon fat!
Directions
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Cook 2 cups of polenta according to the package instructions. For me it was the following: bring water and salt to a boil in a large sauce pan. Gradually add the polenta and reduce the heat gently simmering until cooked - about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. About 20 minutes in add the epazote and the chipotles. When you have 5 minutes to go add the chicken.
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Grease (butter) a 9X11 size baking pan. When the polenta is done scoop it into the pan and level it out. Refrigerate until chilled and set.
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When you get home from work (or your trip to the store or your mani-pedi or whathaveyou) heat a griddle with some lovely bacon fat over medium-high heat. If you don't have any in your fridge fry up a couple of slices to crumble over the top of your cakes when you are done. If you absolutely must I suppose you could use some neutral oil. But it's just not the same. Really. Trust me on this.
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Cut your polenta into squares and fry on both sides until crispy and golden brown (about 4-5 minutes per side).
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Remove and top with any (or all) of the following: grated colby jack, sour cream with lime zest (my favorite), salsa, avocado, diced tomato, chopped chives or green onions, cholula....seriously I could go on and on here.
Full-time working wife and mother of two small boys whose obsessive need to cook delicious food is threatening to take over what little free time I have. I grew up in a family of serious cookers but didn't learn to cook myself until I got married and got out of the military and discovered the joys of micro-graters, ethiopian food, immersion blenders and watching my husband roll around on the floor after four servings of pulled pork tamales (with real lard!) complaining that he's so full he can't feel his legs. Trying to graduate from novice cooker to ranked amateur. The days of 'the biscuit incident of aught five' as my husband refers to it are long past but I still haven't tried my hand at paella so I'm a work in progress!
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