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Sausage and Cannellini Bean Polenta Cobbler

posted in beans and legumes on Mar 05, 2013
06

 

I mentioned in my last post that casseroles are pretty great. The only thing greater than a casserole? One that’s topped with biscuits.

This recipe caught my eye immediately. I will say “polenta” cobbler is a bit of a misnomer to me personally, because I feel there isn’t quite enough cornmeal in the biscuits to officially call them polenta, but semantics schmemantics. There is really nothing to not catch your eye about this recipe – a hearty blend of sausage, spinach, and peppers, topped with flaky biscuits. It’s no wonder I made this dish very soon after saving it.

I decided to add a can of cannellini beans to this mixture, which was an excellent idea on my part (thankyouverymuch). For one, it added some additional protein and bulk – I feel like without the beans, the filling would need to be increased or the cobbler topping decreased, as the biscuit-to-filling ratio was a little too high. Additionally, there is something I love love love about cannellini beans, sausage, and spinach together. I’ve had this combination in many dishes before and the flavors and textures all just work beautifully together. This was absolutely no different, and resulted in a homey, comforting, and straight up tasty meal that we all enjoyed. Although the biscuit topping didn’t have the same texture when eaten as leftovers and was a little more dumpling-like, I still LOVED the leftovers.

This recipe is really easy to adapt to your taste preferences. In addition to adding beans and garlic, I also swapped out the heavy cream for buttermilk in the cobbler topping. Don’t get me wrong, I love cream as much as the next girl, but buttermilk biscuits always get my vote and as a bonus, buttermilk is way healthier than heavy cream.

This cobbler came together quite quickly and I can’t wait to make it again. Since it’s been snowing for about 10 straight hours now, I guess we still have quite a bit of winter weather to “look forward to” so I’ll have time to make it again. Score.

 

Sausage and Cannellini Bean Polenta Cobbler

Adapted from Savory Pies by Greg Henry, via Within the Kitchen

For the filling:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. Italian sausage (I used turkey), casings removed
1 medium onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, sliced into strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2.25 cups chicken broth
3 cups baby spinach
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

For the cobbler topping:
1.5 cups flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
freshly ground pepper
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1.25 cups buttermilk + 1 Tbsp. for brushing the tops

Place an oven rack in the center position, and preheat the oven to 375°F.

 

To make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a  12″ cast iron or other large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, crumbling up as you stir, and cook until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from the skillet. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons fat (Note: if you are using turkey sausage, you likely won’t have much leftover fat, and may need to add another teaspoon or so of olive oil).

 

Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until somewhat softened, about 5 minutes. Add the pepper strips and cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and crushed red pepper, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the flour and tomato paste, stirring for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring or whisking to prevent any flour clumps.
Add the spinach, beans, and sausage back into the skillet, cooking for about 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, if needed.

 

To make the cobbler topping: In a medium bowl or the bowl of your food processor, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Using a pastry blender, 2 butter knives, or your food processor, cut or pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cheese, cutting or rubbing to lightly mix. Stir in the buttermilk until a rough dough forms. Drop 6 or 8 large mounds of cobbler topping over the sausage mixture, 1 inch apart. Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk on top. Bake until the filling is bubbly and the polenta topping is golden brown, about 25 minutes; a knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

Sausage and Cannellini Bean Polenta Cobbler

6 thoughts on “Sausage and Cannellini Bean Polenta Cobbler”

  1. As soon as I heard polenta cobbler I was in. Topping something with biscuits or dumplings or some kind of carb ALWAYS gets my attention! And this just sounds wonderful.

    Reply

  4. Isn’t the recipe great! Glad you liked it. I have been craving it all week so I’m sure we’ll be making it again this weekend!

    Thanks for stopping by. Love your blog!
    Ceecee

    Reply

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