At its core, cooking isn’t complicated. It’s about well designed process and awareness of what ingredients can do. That’s especially true for these simple, 6-Ingredient Italian recipes. Get my favorite cookware from Made In today with a 10% off discount on your first order over $100 using my link – https://madein.cc/0424-brian
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*Cheesy Baked Polenta with Rustic Tomato Sauce*
300g (2c) polenta
1200g (4 1/4c) chicken stock
7g (1 1/2t) salt
115g (1 stick) butter
100g (3/4c) grated Parmesan, plus extra for topping
Olive oil
40g (10-12 cloves) sliced garlic
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, pureed
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, medium diced
Salt
10g (2 1/2t) sugar
1. In a high-sided non-stick saucepan, toast polenta over high for 3-4 mins, stirring frequently until it smells like popcorn.
2. Whisk in stock & salt (7g) to the toasted polenta, bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender.
3. Stir in the butter until melted, then add parmesan,, stirring until fully incorporated.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Transfer the cheesy polenta into a buttered baking dish, top with additional grated Parmesan cheese, and bake for 25 minutes.
5. While that cooks, prepare the tomato sauce. In a saucepan, heat about 1/4c olive oil over medium heat and add sliced garlic. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant and slightly softened.
6. Add pureed and diced tomatoes from the cans. Bring to a simmer and reduce for 20 minutes.
7. Season the sauce with a pinch salt and sugar.
8. Once the polenta is baked, let it set for 20 minutes before serving. Cut into squares and top with the prepared tomato sauce.
9. Garnish with additional parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil
*Linguine and Clams*
300g/10.5oz linguine
Olive oil
30g (6-8 cloves) sliced garlic
2g (1t) chili flakes
300g (1 1/4c) dry white wine
2 (185g) cans cooked clams
Fresh parsley, chopped
115g (1 stick) butter
Salt
1. Cook linguine in a pot of well salted boiling water until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Reserve some pasta water and drain the linguine.
2.In a large non-stick pan, heat olive oil and sauté sliced garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes until softened. Add chili flakes and fry for another minute.
3. Add wine, simmer until reduced by half.
4. Strain the clam juice from the cans of cooked clams (2 cans, 185g each) into the pan (reserve clam meat for later). Simmer for 2 minutes to reduce liquid by half.
5. Add the cooked linguine to the pan along with reserved clams, chopped parsley, and butter. Toss well to coat the pasta in the sauce.
6. Serve and top with additional parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
*Braised Chicken Cacciatore*
4-6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
250g (2sm) onion, sliced
300g (1 orange & 1 red), orange and red bell peppers, sliced
40g (10-12 cloves) sliced garlic
3g (1t) chili flakes
125g (2c) Castelvetrano olives, halved
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, pureed
1. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
2. In a large, deep skillet with lid, heat a few Tbsp olive oil over med high, sear chicken thighs skin-side down for 5 mins until browned. Remove from pan, set aside.
3. In the same skillet, add olive oil then sliced onion, peppers , garlic, & chili flakes. saute 5-8 min over medium heat until softened and beginning to take on color.
4. Add halved Castelvetrano olives and pureed whole peeled tomatoes to the skillet. Stir and bring to a simmer.
5. When simmering, return the seared chicken thighs to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Cover and braise in a preheated 325°F (165°C) oven for 45 minutes.
6. Serve chicken over stewed peppers, onions, and olives.
*Italian Sausage and Rapini Pasta*
150g (about ½ a large bunch) chopped rapini
225g (2 2/3c) orecchiette pasta
Olive oil
225g (1/2lb) Italian sausage
Salt and pepper
115g (1 stick) butter
40g (1/3c) grated Parmesan cheese
Red chili flakes
1. Chop rapini into 1” pieces, then blanch in well salted boiling water for 30 seconds. Scoop into paper towel lined bowl and set aside.
2. Cook orecchiette pasta according to package instructions. Drain, reserving some pasta water.
3. In a large non-stick pan over medium-high, heat olive oil and cook Italian sausage until browned and crumbled.
4. Add blanched rapini back into the pan and sauté for a minute.
5. Pour in about a cup of pasta water and add drained, cooked orecchiette to the pan. Stir in butter and toss until melted and emulsified.
6. Off the heat, add grated Parm, toss to combine.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Cheesy baked polenta with rustic tomato sauce
3:25 Linguine and clams
6:46 Chicken cacciatore
8:49 Italian sausage and rapini pasta
40 Comments
Get my favorite cookware from Made In today with a 10% off discount on your first order over $100 using my link – https://madein.cc/0424-brian
Would not recommend the MadeIn nonstick pans. Coating peeled right off on SEVERAL MadeIn nonsticks. The stainless pan is fantastic, though!
My kid and I kept yelling at your video, “Low bowl!?!? No! It’s a BLATE!” 😂
I love you, Brian. So positive. : )
I love this video theme! The 5 ingredients Mexican and 6 ingredient Italian is great!!
Marinara is not tomato sauce ,marinara comes from the Latin word the ocean like mussels marinara, tomato sauce in Italian is caled sugar Pomeroy your falling into corporations trying to change the name of tomato sauce so come on man
These will certainly prolapse my friends!
You are the reason I have come to like polenta Brian. Never ate it prior to one of your other videos. Its actually a pretty great base for stuff.
WE DONT USE THIS MUCH GARLIC IN ITALY, EVER!
Loved this video! Your energy was on point EXO
Hey Bri? Is the recipe in the description correct for the polenta? It says 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock but that amount you put in the video was way more than 1 1/4 cups and also 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock would probably be about 300 grams and not 1200 right?
Hey Bri clean your backsplash
Why does tossing the sauce in the pan make a creamier sauce than stirring?
Is the gram to cup conversion for the chicken stock accurate here? I measured it out with a cup instead of my kitchen scale and I needed WAAAAAY more than my 1.25 cup.(for the polenta dish)
10 to12 cloves of garlic th8s foo is crazy
I have three words for you on the clams, canned baby clams. You can thank me later. 😉😋😎
I grow perpetual chard (related to swiss chard but much more heat tolerant) in my garden, and I have tons of it. This would be a great recipe for that. Thank you!
I am also now interested in polenta. I've never had it before but I will watch for an excuse.
These all seem like you are trying to either fend off vampires or elevate lipitor sales😂
Came here for the cooking, staying for the prolapse jokes in the comments
love love love your content! easy to make, your delivery is fun and unlike many chefs, you are down to earth (not snobby or condescending)
thank you for putting recipes in youtube
You are one of my fav creators! Sure the food looks delish – that goes without saying. But I also like that the videos are easy to follow, informative, well-paced, well-shot, and sprinkled with humor. My fiancé and I watch the new uploads and he’s dubbed it “let’s eat this thang!!!” time LOL
They dont 😂😂😂😂
Just a heads-up, I think there is an error on the recipe in the description for the baked polenta. It says 1200 grams or 1.25 cups of chicken stock. I believe that conversion would be closer to 4.5 cups. I used the 1200grams and the recipe turned out perfect. Keep up the good work, my family loves your recipes.
1200 grams of chicken stock is not 1 1/4 cups as stated in the recipe supplied.
Made the Italian Sausage and Rapini Pasta this weekend, and it was delicious! Used chopped kale that I had on hand, and added a little chicken broth (to add a little more savory depth) with the pasta water. Comes together fast and definitely use your larger skillet or wok – you'll need the space.
good content
In place of Clams, what can you substitute for those of us that are allergic to anything that breathes water?
Great recipes I especially love the pasta❤️
One stick of butter
Hi Bri. Well done! As an Italian home cook I prepare myself 3 out of the 4 dishes here on a regular basis (I don't fancy polenta that much). Only diff: less butter 🙂
Great video Brian
Thumbnail says "ingedients" rather than "ingredients".
I have learned so much watching your channel. Technique, science, thoughtfully tasting for seasoning. But the single most important thing I’ve learned is that I don’t use NEARLY ENOUGH BUTTER when I cook.
Your clam sauce is exactly the way I make it, and it’s one of the few things that actually benefits from a tiny bit of dry oregano, just enough to be a perfume more than a flavor
great stuff
I made that cheesy baked polenta tonight (well technically made the polenta last night and refrigerated it) and it was really damn good! I cut the slices and put them in a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat with some olive oil for about 10 minutes then broiled them for another 5. The bottom had a beautiful crisp crunch to it and the flavor was outstanding. I also sweat down a clump of basil in the sauce. I'll definitely be making that again!
Excellent.
Lov your videos Brian! I know you love your cutting board. Would be great with a video telling us how many cutting boards we should have for various tasks. I know you should have separate ones for raw meat etc but what kind of material? I saw Epicurious had an article that you should replace all your cutting boards (even wood) anually. Seems excessive to me.
It's the little things you include that help me improve at cooking – love how you explain the diced tomatoes, for example. Hope to hear your tips on immersion blending tomato products without decorating your kitchen surfaces with a lovely red speckle! 😅