Pork Polenta Pasticciata

📝 Ingredients

• 250 g instant polenta
• 1 chicken stock cube + 1 l water
• 400 g minced pork
• 1 brown onion (about 150 g) + 2 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots (about 100 g each)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1 ball of mozzarella (125 g drained)
• 1 tsp olive oil (for the dish)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large saucepan
• Whisk
• Sauté pan
• Rimmed baking tray and baking paper
• Baking dish
• Spatula

📖 Steps

1. Line a rimmed baking tray of about 40 × 30 cm with baking paper. Bring 1 l water to the boil with the crumbled stock cube in a large saucepan.
2. Gradually pour in the polenta, whisking constantly to avoid lumps, then turn down to a low heat and cook for 5 to 6 min, stirring with a wooden spoon, until very thick and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Watch out for scalding splashes.
3. Immediately spread it over the tray in an even layer about 1 cm thick using a wet spatula, then leave to cool for at least 30 min: it should firm up and slice like a cake.
4. Meanwhile, peel the onion and carrots, cut them into small dice and chop the garlic. Brown the minced pork for 5 min in a sauté pan over a medium-high heat, without any fat, breaking it up with a spatula, then add the vegetables and cook for another 5 min.
5. Stir in the tomato purée for 1 min, then add the chopped tomatoes and herbes de Provence. Season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered over a low heat for 15 min, until the sauce is thick and a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a trail.
6. Preheat the oven to 200 °C and oil a baking dish of about 25 × 20 cm. Cut the cooled polenta into two rectangles the size of the dish, then drain the mozzarella and slice it thinly.
7. Build the layers: one rectangle of polenta, half the ragù and half the mozzarella, then repeat once, finishing with the mozzarella. Fill any gaps with the polenta offcuts, like a jigsaw puzzle.
8. Bake for 25 min, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling at the edges. Leave to rest for 5 min out of the oven before cutting: the portions hold together better and don't collapse.