Veal Sausages with Herbed Polenta and Roasted Beets

Can’t figure out what to make tonight? Well, we couldn’t either. So we found some misfit stuff and threw it together and, you know what… it was pretty good. The roasted beets gave this otherwise ‘soft’ meal some necessary crunch, as well as color. The sausages we had were some delicious veal links with sage. It was all quite simple, but very satisfying, especially on a cold fall night. We used a British product called “Bisto” to help with the brown gravy. We believe you could use your own gravy recipe or just substitute beef stock (veal stock would be best) or even a beef broth cube for the Bisto.

VEAL SAUSAGES WITH HERBED POLENTA AND ROASTED BEETS (Serves 2)

  • 4 Veal Sausage Links
  • 2 Large Beets, cut into 2” half-moons
  • 1/2 cup polenta
  • hot chicken stock for the polenta
  • chopped parsley and sage

For the gravy:

  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 onion, finely sliced
  • 1/2 habanero, finely chopped (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons of BISTO (or 1 beef stock cube)
  • 2 cups of boiling water
  • Salt and Pepper to taste (for polenta and gravy)

What to do:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the beets, cut them into half-moon shapes and toss with olive oil and salt/pepper. Put on baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes.
  2. In a medium-hot pan, brown your sausages on both sides. When they are browned on both sides, remove from pan and keep on side.
  3. Add some olive oil (1 Tbsp.) to the same pan sausages browned in. Add sliced onions and allow to soften. When onions are translucent, add garlic and (optional) hot pepper. Allow to saute for a minute or two.
  4. Add red wine and deglaze the pan, picking up any bits on the bottom.
  5. Mix BISTO (or stock cube) and boiling water thoroughly. Add this to the pan. Bring to a boil. Simmer liquid until reduced by half.
  6. While gravy is reducing, start your polenta. In a separate pan, combine polenta with 1 cup of hot chicken stock by first putting stock in pan and then slowly pouring polenta in it (STIR all the while… it will feel like you don’t have enough hands to do this, but just do your best!). Add a pinch of salt. Continue to stir vigorously with a wooden spoon, adding more chicken stock while doing so. You don’t want the polenta to be dry, but also do not let it get soupy (unless, of course that’s how you like polenta). You want it to be smooth and not runny. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon while on medium – low/medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. At the end, taste for necessary salt and smoothness. Throw in your herbs and some (optional) parmagiano cheese.
  7. Take beets out of oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
  8. Add the sausages back to the pan. Allow to simmer for 3-4 additional minutes.
  9. Plate your dish – start with a layer of polenta, two sausages per plate nestled into the polenta, topped with some gravy (get some onions in there!) and finish with a few roasted beets. Enjoy!

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