Last night I had dinner at an Italian restaurant. While Italian restaurants usually sprinkle my life with sheer joy, this one was different. Different than any Italian food I had ever experienced. As my friends and I glanced through the menu, we stayed silent for a while. Was it modern? What do we order? What sounds good? Speck? Lecco? Orato…what are such things? We were confused, but we settled on some choices. And as we munched on delicious bread and a white bean/olive oil dip, our food came. And it was not what we expected. It was beautifully plated but very dainty. Flavors were not a cohesive whole. We couldn’t quite put our finger on what was…..off.

For my main course, I had pappardelle with beets and speck. It was not a bad meal, per se. But when I left, I didn’t feel like I usually feel when I leave a wonderful Italian meal: which is full, delighted, and happy. I didn’t feel satisfied. I don’t necessarily want to nibble on plants when I eat Italian. I want big bread. I want garlic. I want big plates of carbohydrates. I want messy red sauce and fresh tomatoes. I want mozzarella. I want meltiness and fresh basil and parmesan. I want this polenta bolognese.

This is a quintessentially Italian dish, or at least what I picture to be my perfect Italian food. It’s a hard polenta square, baked until crispy. I loveLOVElove polenta, both soft and hard and every which way. I might even like it more than (gasp!) pasta sometimes. It also has a generous piece of mozzarella which is melted until brown and gooey on top. Plus fresh tomatoes. Then it’s hit generously with this bolognese sauce. It spills over the sides of the polenta like a thick helping of pure goodness. Then more fresh tomatoes, then fresh basil, and fresh parmesan cheese.

It’s exactly what I want, when I think Italian. And seriously, what’s better than a good, hearty, hot, melty tomatoey Italian meal? Not many things…

Polenta bolognese

Notes: feel free to serve the polenta soft for quicker serving and a totally different presentation.

While this is “inauthentic” according to the authenticity police and might sound wacky, I like to add some cinnamon to the bolognese sauce for some spice. It’s not overwhelming at all and I think it works really well. But it’s up to you.

Serves 6 generously

For polenta

4 cups milk

2 cups water

2 cups cornmeal

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

For bolognese

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 ounces pancetta or bacon, minced

1 pound ground beef, veal, or pork, or a combination thereof

1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 cup hearty red wine

1 cup milk

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For serving

6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into slices

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Handful cherry tomatoes

Handful fresh basil leaves

Make the bolognese

Heat butter in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and pancetta and sautè until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add ground meat and 1/2 teaspoon salt; crumble meat with edge of wooden spoon to break apart into tiny pieces. Cook, continuing to crumble meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

Add milk and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until wine evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Add tomatoes, their juice, tomato paste, bay leaves, cinnamon (if using) and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until liquid has just about evaporated, about 3 hours. Adjust seasonings with extra salt to taste and serve. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days or frozen for several months. Warm over low heat before serving.)

While the bolognese cooks, make the polenta

In a medium saucepan, bring milk and water to a gentle boil. Add cornmeal slowly, whisking constantly, to make sure no lumps form. Continue whisking until polenta reaches desired consistency and pulls away from the bottom and sides of the pan (this will vary depending on the type of cornmeal you use, regular cornmeal takes about 10 minutes). Add butter and season with salt and pepper. (If sticking with the soft polenta, stop here. For the solid one, continue…)

Pour the polenta into an 8 x 8 pan, and let harden for about an hour.

Set oven to 400 degrees. Cut the polenta into six squares and rub with olive oil. Set on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven until brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes. Place some mozzarella on each square, and set back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbling.

Assemble

Arrange the polenta squares among six plates. Spoon the bolognese sauce on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, the basil leaves, and raw cherry tomatoes.