Polenta for Breakfast

Hey there are vegetables inside

By Katherine

It is only fair since I made fun of Greg for his kitchen meltdown a few months back that I come clean. I planned to make Joanne’s bacon and toast cups using a bit of spinach, leftover polenta and prosciutto, then surprise Greg with breakfast in bed. Instead, he awoke to the bedroom door flying open and me proclaiming in a voice I’d use if the house were on fire: “I have a kitchen emergency, get up now.” The emergency: Some clown at that fancy pants store across town had shredded our prosciutto into a stringy mess that couldn’t line bacon cups and hence the whole meal would have to be deconstructed. Horror of horrors. The store gave me free prosciutto on the next trip and the manager was very gracious not even laughing one little bit when I pulled out the smart phone and showed her photos of shredded prosciutto and explained how I had been forced to adapt my breakfast plans and that thin cut didn’t have to be microscopic and that I know the butchers there know this and am always quite happy with their service. I am a very nice plaintiff, reserving histrionics for home.

Despite my crisis mode, the breakfast turned out perfectly. Greg saved the day. Pan fried polenta and prosciutto bits are right tasty and while the meal wasn’t as pretty as the cups would have been, it cooked a bit faster.

Polenta with Fried Eggs, Spinach and Prosciutto

• 4-6 eggs
• 4-6 half-inch slices of cold polenta
• 1 small bunch spinach
• 1/2 cup cremini or king trumpet mushrooms, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2-3 ounces thin sliced prosciutto, cut into strips

Melt butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat, brown each side of the polenta then transfer to an oven set to 350 to warm while you cook the remainder of the dish. In another skillet, bring oil to heat over medium heat. Saute mushrooms until tender, then add spinach in batches and wilt. Spoon into a dish and set aside. Fry eggs in a bit more hot oil, until done to your likeness. Brown the prosciutto at the same time if you have room. If not brown the meat first. Once everything is done, top each polenta slice with spinach mix, an egg and the prosciutto. Crack some fresh black pepper on the top. Serve immediately.