Cheesy Breakfast Egg and Polenta Casserole
If you’ve had the pleasure of a cheesy polenta dinner, topped with a creamy-yolked egg, you can imagine how good that combination is at breakfast. This quick casserole for a crowd is exactly that, made elegant and easy so you can have a perfectly cooked portion for each person with very little work. Layer your polenta with anything you desire, whether salami or ham — or keep it vegetable-centric with spinach and oven-roasted tomatoes. Make nests between your toppings and the polenta where the eggs will cook slowly, giving you a soft-cooked finish that’s loaded with flavor.
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup polenta
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup whole milk
½ cup/2 ounces fontina or mozzarella, or a blend, shredded
5 ounces thinly sliced cured meat or cooked meat of your choosing (ground pork or sweet italian sausage or lardons etc), or leave out to make vegetarian friendly
1-2 tbsp oil
Spring garlic, chopped (or any alliums you have on hand)
Mushrooms, chopped (or any veg you have on hand)
1 packed cup spinach, kale or chard, torn or chopped
8 large eggs
½ cup ounces cheese (grated parm another hard cheese works great, but could also use an aged cheddar, gouda, goat cheese etc)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh culinary herbs as garnish
Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the center. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside.
Bring a pan to medium on the stovetop, adding 1-2 tbs oil, waiting for it to shimmer in the pan to ensure it’s hot enough, then add garlic and mushrooms, cooking until garlic is tender and mushrooms are browned to your liking. Set aside.
Cook the polenta according to the directions. Quick cook polenta will come together in about 3 minutes, coarser polenta, like the decadent Floriani from Front Porch Farm will take closer to 20 minutes. Regardless of the polenta you decide to use, bring the water to a boil, gradually whisk in the polenta and salt, stirring constantly for quick cook varieties and less often for longer cooking varieties. Cook until the polenta bubbles and pulls away from the pan, then vigorously stir in the milk, butter and cheese until smooth and creamy.
Spread the polenta onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with meat, raw greens, and mushrooms and green garlic mixture . Use the back of a large spoon to create 8 small wells in the polenta. Crack the eggs inside, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how set you like your eggs. Let stand for 5 minutes; sprinkle with black pepper and herbs and serve warm.
Recipe Source: Adapted from NYT Cooking Recipe