From Tracey Ryder

A hot, creamy bowl of polenta with good chorizo is one of our all-time favorite breakfast meals, especially during the winter. The polenta takes 25–30 minutes to cook but it’s worth the wait.

Ingredients:

½ pound chorizo sausage
5 cups water
1 cup polenta or grits
2 tablespoons Mascarpone cheese (or Parmesan—see note below)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream for garnish
Cilantro for garnish
Hot sauce to add heat (optional)

Cook chorizo sausage in a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat until done, approximately 10 minutes. Keep warm.

Cook polenta in a medium-sized, heavy-bottom saucepan by bringing 5 cups of lightly salted water to a boil, then slowly pouring in polenta while stirring constantly so that it doesn’t lump. Once all the polenta is stirred into the water and the mixture has returned to a boil, turn temperature down to medium-low and let cook for 25 minutes longer, stirring occasionally throughout the cooking process so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pan. Cook until polenta is the consistency of a thick custard. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of Mascarpone cheese. This will make the polenta quite creamy in texture. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: if you don’t have Mascarpone cheese on hand, you can use a good-quality Parmesan instead—just finely grate it and stir it into the polenta after it’s cooked, just like you would the Mascarpone.

Serve immediately by placing polenta into warmed soup bowls. Spoon cooked chorizo on top of polenta, then garnish with sour cream, cilantro and hot sauce to taste.