Creamy polenta is one of my favorite starches, and is naturally gluten free. If you can tolerate corn you will love this dish. If not, you can use the chicken and gravy recipe over rice or pasta. I enjoy my polenta creamy, but you can bake the polenta once chilled and set in the refrigerator, if you desire.
To bake it, just place it in a 9×9 or 8×8 pan, chill, cut into squares and bake on a baking sheet. Instead of using water in the polenta I used some chicken stock from the chicken I boiled, as I heard many restaurants make it this way. It’s all a matter of taste. Many people prefer it this way. I actually prefer to make it with water. Either way, enjoy!
Creamy polenta topped with shredded chicken and gluten free gravy.
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 to 1-/3/4 lbs. chicken breast with bones
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced, grated or crushed
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 7 cups water
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried sweet basil
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins is gluten free last I checked) (or a splash of Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master)
- 1 Tablespoon butter (or dairy-free substitute)
- Fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- Approximately 2 Tablespoons all-purpose gluten-free flour (or tapioca flour/starch, potato starch, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder)
- 1-1/8 cups uncooked polenta (I use Golden Pheasant)
- 2 Tablespoons butter (or dairy-free substitute)
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cups gluten free chicken broth from the boiled chicken (or water)
Instructions:
- Remove skin and fat from chicken breast (Or use boneless and skinless, but it will not be as flavorful)
- Add to pot and cover with water, slightly above the chicken.
- Boil for about 30 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.
- Remove chicken from broth and set broth aside.
- Without burning yourself, pull chicken from bone in strips; set aside; discard bones.
- In a medium to large sauce pan, sauté onion and garlic in oil until onion is slightly translucent.
- Add 3 cups chicken stock and cook on medium to medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes.
- Cook polenta according to instructions. Or use chicken broth instead of water. The instructions for the Golden Pheasant polenta suggests using 1 cup polenta, 4 cups water, 2 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon salt. I can cut back the salt to 3/4 teaspoon. I also increased the polenta from 1 cup to 1-1/8 cups for a thicker polenta. Add salt to the chicken broth, if using, and boil. If not boil water. Add polenta and lower heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes and add 2 tablespoons butter once cooked.
- Once your chicken stock is done, in a small 4 to 8 oz. container with a lid, add flour (all-purpose gluten-free flour works best); add enough water to make it runny. Shake it up and add it to the broth; and stir and allow to thicken. Make sure the broth is at a boiling temperature before adding the flour or starch.
- Add butter and Worchestershire Sacue; and stir.
- Serve chicken with a little gravy over polenta.
Tips
To save on calories you can definitely use water for the polenta. On the other hand, if you can handle extra calories additional butter always works well.
Once gravy is thickened, serve immediately. If using starch, and you wait too long it tends to thin out. If this occurs, add more flour or starch.
Add more flour until desired thickness of gravy is reached.
If desired, you can add a 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and/or Romano cheese to the polenta for added flavor.
UPDATE: I recently discovered a certified organic, non-GMO polenta by de la Estancia. And it cooks in 1 minute, though it is not an instant product.
Love polenta and chicken. Great recipe for the whole family!