It's 2:20 am and Anabela is sleeping (which is not always the case at this time) so I decided to make Italian sausage ragu just because! :)

Just kidding...not about making of the Italian sausage ragu part but about just because part. My boyfriend is flying in late from his game in Belgrade so I made him a full dinner with protein rich salad, ragu with polenta as the main dish and desert and all. It wouldn't be fair to have him eat a sandwich after the long and late trip.

Off I go to share the recipe, it's quite simple actually, when I make it for myself I make it with red wine while tonight I made it 'healthy way for an athlete' with home made chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 of a big onion finely chopped
1 big clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
6 mid size Italian sausages
1.5 tbsp of fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup (cc 250ml) of red wine or chicken stock
Instant polenta
1 tbsp of tomato paste
400g chopped cherry tomatoes (you can use a can of pellati tomatoes as well)
grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Optional: mushrooms

DIRECTIONS

If you are using cooked sausages you don't need to bake them, I used fresh ones and I baked them before preparing as part of the recipe.

BAKING SAUSAGES
Heat the oven on 200C. Coat the baking pan with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning) spread sausages evenly over the pan and bake for 20-30 min. Let cool a bit, slice and prepare as per recipe bellow.


1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook onion until softened and gold in color. Add the sausage slices in pieces, garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the sausage is browned and all well combined. If you are using mushrooms add them now, cook with steering until mushrooms are softened.

2. Add wine/chicken stock and cook for a few minutes until liquid is slightly reduced. Add tomato paste and stir for a bit, then stir in tomatoes. Add spices, salt and pepper to taste.  Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. When it bubbles Reduce to low and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is reduced and you reach desired thickness of the ragu sauce.

3. Meanwhile, cook polenta according to packet instructions (I got instant 1min polenta.  Add grated cheese, serve topped with the sausage ragu, parmesan cheese and topped with rest of the rosemary.

I served it with salad.
Bon appetite!

This recipe as most of the recipes I recommend is super easy and healthy. My boyfriend asked me to make it again and again after I first time made this polenta, salmon combination with light cucumber and carrot salad. You can make all of this with a steak or different meat if you are not a salmon fan.

INGREDIENTS

Cucumber yogurt sauce: 0.5 cup greek yogurt (I used Fage) 1 garlic clove  1 tbsp lemon zest 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 cucumber salt & pepper
Carrot salad: 1/2 tea spoon of cumin seeds  1/4 tea spoon of ground turmeric  1 large carrot 1.5 tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro  1 tbsp of olive oil 1 tbsp of lemon juice
Salmon: 2 salmon fillets (1 per person) 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil sea salt & pepper
Polenta: 1.5 cup polenta 3 cups water

DIRECTIONS

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
1. First prepare cucumber yogurt sauce as it requires 10-20 minutes of chill time in the fridge.  2. Combine thin sliced (peeled or well washed) cucumber, greek yogurt, grated garlic clove, lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium size bowl and gently steer with a spoon.  3. Season with salt & pepper per taste. This sauce keeps well in fridge for 1-3 days (without cucumber added) if you want to prepare it ahead.
Carrot Salad 
1. Toast cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, add ground turmeric for the last 20 seconds of these 2 minutes.  2. Add thin sliced carrot (I use vegetable peeler to peel it and then to slice it so slices end up paper thin and look preety on the plate), olive oil, cilantro and lemon juice.  3. Add sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste.  
I usually just mix it all well right there in the pan over medium heat for 1 minute and then place it in a medium bowl, chill and serve. 
Salmon
1. Season salmon fillets with sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste.  2. Heat olive or coconut oil over medium heat and grill salmon 3-4 minutes on each side until it gets nice color depending on thickness.  3. Bring 3 cups of water to boil and add 1.5 cup instant polenta. It's done in 1 minute! :)
I promise you if you love salmon you will adore this recipe! :)
XoXo