Polenta With Leeks And Gorgonzola

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Title: POLENTA WITH LEEKS AND GORGONZOLA
Categories: Corn, Vegetarian
Yield: 6 Servings

2 lg Fennel bulbs
3 lg Onions, yellow
5 tb Olive oil, fruity green
Salt & pepper to taste
2/3 c Dry red wine
2 lg Leeks; white only
1 ts Butter
6 c Vegetable broth; or more
1 c Yellow cornmeal
3 oz Gorgonzola blue cheese
Flat-leaf parsley; chopped

Trim the fennel bulbs, wash them well, cut them in half lengthwise,
and then slice them about 1/4-inch thick. Peel the onions and slice
them the same way.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large non-stick pan and cook
the fennel and onions in it slowly, stirring often, adding a little
salt and pepper to taste, until they are completey soft and golden
brown. Stir in the wine, and continue cooking until it almost all
simmers away, then set the pan aside.

Clean the leeks thoroughly, cut them in half lengthwise, then slice
them quite thinly crosswise. Heat the remaining olive oil and the
butter in a non-stick pan and saute the leeks in it, stirring them
often, until they are soft and beginning to color. Add a little
sprinkle of salt -- but not too much.

Heat 6 cups of broth in a medium-sized saucepan and whisk in the
polenta. Lower the heat and simmer the polenta, stirring with a
wooden spoon constantly, or at least very often, until it is thick
and smooth, about 30 minutes. Stir in the sauteed leeks; break the
Gorgonzola into chunks and stir it in. Keep stirring until the cheese
is all melted into the cornmeal. The polenta should be thick and
smooth, but not stiff. If it is holding a shape as you stir it,
gradually mix in a bit more vegetable broth.

Meanwhile, warm up the carmelized fennel and onion mixture. This too
could be moistened with a bit of vegetable broth if needed.

Ladle the polenta into warm, shallow bowls or onto warm plates, and
spoon some of the fennel and onion mixture around the polenta.
Scatter some fresh flat-leaf parsley across the top and serve at once
with a good red wine.

Source: "The New Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas

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