Polenta and Meatball Casserole with La Castellena Chianti Classico

The polenta and meatball casserole just before being pulled from the oven.

On a recent trip to Trader Joe's, Tyler placed a roll of pre-made polenta in the cart. Polenta is something I have had on my list to make from scratch for quite some time, but, just have not gotten around to it.  I had no idea what I was going to do with this pre-made polenta. As I scoured the web, I realized that polenta is a popular pasta substitute in the gluten free world. After looking through the freezer and refrigerator, I came up with a lasagna style casserole. This meal could not be easier to put together!

Hey, what can I say? Polenta is tasty, filling, and inexpensive. It's a great substitute for starch in a meal, and it carries sauce well. It's really not that exotic -- I once heard it described as "Italian mashed potatoes."

Ingredients

Pre-made polenta 

Your favorite pasta sauce

Meatballs (Recipe below.)

Your favorite cheese. ( I had mozzarella on hand)

Preheat the oven to 350.  

Layers of polenta, meatballs, and sauce, ready for
more sauce and cheese.

Preheat a non-stick skillet on medium high. Slice the polenta into thin rounds. Place polenta into skillet.  Lightly brown both sides. Meanwhile, place about a 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish. Place a layer with of polenta on top of the sauce. After another layer of sauce, layer your meatballs. Top with the remaining polenta and sauce.  Sprinkle your cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. 

Allow to sit for 3 to 5 minutes and serve. Mangia, mangia!

One batch cooking, one batch resting.

For the meatballs:

16 oz. ground beef

1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

1 egg

crushed or minced garlic to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high. Mix ingredients together. Shape into round balls.  Brown meatballs in skillet. You do not need to cook the meatballs all the way through, as they will finish in the oven.

Ready to serve!

The wine pairing for this was obvious, given what we had on hand in the house; I'd gotten a bottle of La Castellena's 2007 Chianti Classico as a prize at work a couple of weeks ago, Italian wine with an Italian-inspired casserole. The Classico Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) is at the heart of the Chianti region of Tuscany, first laid down into law in 1716. It's a blend of at least 80% sangiovese, aged in barrel for at least 10 months, from vines at least 4 years old, with limits on yield per acre and per vine. Chianti often gets a bad rap as being "cheap Italian wine," mainly due to requirements prior to 1995 requiring that white grapes be used in the blend. However, because the market still hasn't caught on to the higher quality of wine produced in Chianti in the past 15 years, it can represent a great value for savvy wine buyers; good Chianti ranges from $10-$25, while other top wines from Tuscany can be much more expensive (eg, Brunello de Montalcino runs from $30-"how much do you want to spend?").

This particular Chianti is a blend of 90% sangiovese and 10% caniolo nero, aged in barrels for a year, with a further 3 months of bottle age before release. Since this wine comes from the 2007 vintage (a very good year for wine in Tuscany), it's actually seen quite a bit more bottle age -- more like 45 months up to now. The tart strawberry and spicy notes compliment red sauce well, and the gentle tannins of a Chianti work well with meals that have a little protein, but are not dominated by it.

Other good choices for this would have been a mid-weight merlot, or a heavier pinot noir. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo would be another good Italian choice, especially if you use a spicy sauce or spice up the meatballs a bit more.