Recipe: Parmesan polenta with cavolo nero, egg and crispy chili oil

Cookbook author Vanja van der Leeden won the Golden Cookbook award in 2019 for her book ‘Indorock‘. After a dive into Indonesian cuisine, Vanja is back. This time with new swinging Italian recipes collected in Italopop. From pasta to pizza and from antipasti to gelato: Italopop is the ideal cookbook for lovers of Italian cuisine who occasionally want to put something more daring on the table – with all the risks of angry Italian nonnas that entails.

According to Vanja, polenta calls for bold flavors. Meat ragù, tomato sauce, funghi porcini. And if you think completely outside the box for a moment, Chinese crispy chili oil also fits the bill; this stuff seems almost made for it. I’ve made the oil milder with some pul biber, mild Turkish chili flakes. This way, you can spoon generous amounts over the polenta. This is warm winter comfort food that you’ll gratefully eat after plenty of physical activity in the cold outdoors.

How to make Parmesan polenta with cavolo nero, egg and crispy chili oil

• Remove the central rib from the cavolo nero by tearing the leaves away from the rib. Roughly chop the leaves. Bring a pan of water to the boil, salt it and cook the cavolo nero for 5 minutes. Heat a frying pan, add the olive oil and let the garlic color. Scoop the cavolo nero from the boiling water into the frying pan (reserve the cooking liquid) and stir-fry for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, poach the eggs. Bring the cavolo nero cooking water back to the boil and add a splash of vinegar. Break the eggs into a small sieve over a bowl and let the excess white drain away. Pour into an espresso cup. Keep the water just below boiling point. Slide the egg from the cup into the water; I wrap the strands of egg white around the yolk with the help of 2 forks. Poach the egg for 3 minutes and scoop it out of the pan with a slotted spoon. Keep it in a bowl of lukewarm water or on a plate if serving immediately. Repeat with the remaining eggs. If you’re good at it, you can poach 2 at a time. Remove the eggs from the bowl with a slotted spoon and pat dry on a tea towel. If you find poaching a hassle, you can also serve soft-boiled eggs with it.
• Measure out the water or milk, pour it into a pan and bring to the boil. Gradually sprinkle in the polenta while stirring.
• Add the salt. Keep stirring until the polenta has absorbed the liquid and thickened. Stir in the cheese and, lastly, the butter. If it thickens too much, you can always add another splash of liquid.
• Spoon the polenta into deep plates, mix in the cavolo nero and place an egg on each plate. Spoon crispy chili oil over it and eat immediately.

Title: Italopop
Author: Vanja van der Leeden
Price: €39,99
Publisher: Nijgh & van Ditmar

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