I have made cornbread 100x and gluten free cornbread while decent, dries out after a day and ends up being kind of a waste. Upon moving to San Diego of all places, I discovered creamy polenta and decided that this could potentially be a killer combo. This recipe gives you the essence of the cornbread, but with an awesome velvety polenta mixture.
This chili recipe is a culmination of countless batches that I have made in the past. I like using turkey vs beef because it less fatty (and I honestly try to minimize my red meat consumption). As far as spice level – I would put it at a medium. If you want less spice, you can always completely omit the jalapeno – or perhaps leave it out of the chili and leave it in the polenta. Normally once you have taken the membrane and seeds out, you have a very mild spice leftover, but you will get some spice from the chili powder so something to keep in mind. You could also make this vegetarian by adding an additional can of beans and swapping chicken stock for vegetable stock.
Polenta Ingredients
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 jalapeno, membrane and seeds removed, diced
4 cups water
1 cup gluten free polenta
½ tsp salt
1 cup of milk (if you’re milk sensitive, replace milk with an additional cup of water or a dairy free milk that you like, just make sure it is unsweetened/unflavored or it will throw the taste off completely)
1 package shredded cheddar cheese (omit if you need it to be dairy free)
Chili Ingredients
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 green pepper, cored and diced
1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
1 red onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 jalapenos
1 lb. of turkey (you can use ground chicken or ground beef as well)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
4 cups turkey or chicken stock (preferably homemade, link here)
2 cans dark Red Kidney Beans (15.5 oz.)
1 can petite Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz.) (you can always use fresh tomatoes if it is that season and you’re flush)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat an OVEN safe pot over medium/high heat. Add butter. Once melted, add jalapeno and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add polenta, milk, water and salt. Stir to combine (this will not be solidified *see photo) and put it in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and stir. Add a package of shredded cheddar cheese and stir – taste and add more salt if needed. Put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
Now let’s make the chili!
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Add garlic, red and green pepper, red onion and jalapeno.
- Saute for 5-7 mins, until softened. Increase heat to medium/high and add ground turkey. Break it up with the back of your spoon and cook until browned.
- Add tomato paste and cook for another minute or two.
- Add stock, beans and canned tomatoes and bring to a simmer then reduce heat to medium.
- You’ll want to let this thicken so ideally you would want this to cook for about an hour.
To serve, add polenta to a large shallow bowl. Cover with chili and enjoy!
*additional topping suggestions: sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded cheese
Leftovers suggestion:
I love to cook and I like a lot of variety so many times that means taking something that I have made and turning it into a different dish. In this particular instance, I made an egg/chili scramble with fried polenta patties on the side.
You basically want a one egg to 1/2 cup of chili ratio, so, keep that in mind based on how many leftovers you have. Melt a tbsp. of butter in a frying pan over medium heat and whisk the eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the pan and let them solidify for about two minutes. Add the chili and stir everything together.
In another frying pan melt a tbsp. of butter or olive oil over med heat. Shape the leftover polenta into patties and add to the pan. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side and serve alongside the scramble.
