Millefoglie di Polenta Molisana

Ingredients

• For the polenta
• 250 g coarse cornmeal (polenta bramata)
• 1 litre water
• 10 g fine salt
• 40 g Pecorino di Capracotta, finely grated; stirred into the polenta during cooking
• For the ragù
• 400 g pork sausage, casings removed, meat crumbled
• 400 g whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 g fine salt, to taste
• To assemble
• 120 g Pecorino di Capracotta, finely grated

Method

1. 1
   Bring the water to a rolling boil with the salt. Pour the cornmeal in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 40–45 minutes. In the final 5 minutes, stir in the 40 g of grated Pecorino. The polenta is ready when it pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan and a spoon drawn across the surface leaves a furrow that holds.
2. 2
   Pour the cooked polenta onto a large, lightly dampened wooden board or tray in an even layer approximately 5–7 mm deep. Spread level with a wetted spatula. Leave uncovered at room temperature until fully cold, then refrigerate — ideally overnight. The polenta is ready to slice only when it is firm throughout: it should feel rigid and unyielding to firm finger pressure, not at all yielding or tacky.
3. 3
   Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently until soft and translucent, without colour. Add the crumbled sausage meat and cook, stirring, until no raw pink remains. Add the crushed tomatoes and the bay leaf, reduce the heat to low, and simmer uncovered until the ragù is dense and holds its shape when a spoon is dragged through the pan — it must not be soupy. This is where the dish lives or dies: a thin, watery ragù will saturate the polenta sheets and cause the assembly to collapse. Allow approximately 45–60 minutes of slow cooking. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt.
4. 4
   Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Using an unwaxed thread or fine wire — not a knife, which drags and deforms the sheet — slice the cold polenta block into neat sheets 5–7 mm thick. Pass the thread beneath the block, cross the ends over the top, and draw through in a single smooth motion. The sheets should be firm, clean-edged, and hold their shape without crumbling.
5. 5
   Lightly oil a baking dish. Lay a first layer of polenta sheets to cover the base, trimming pieces to fit. Spread a generous layer of ragù over the polenta. Scatter a liberal quantity of grated Pecorino over the ragù. Repeat — polenta, ragù, Pecorino — for as many layers as the dish allows, finishing with a polenta sheet topped by a generous, even layer of Pecorino. The cheese between layers is both flavour and structural binding; do not economise.
6. 6
   Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes, until the polenta layers have absorbed the ragù and the dish is heated through. Remove the foil and continue baking for a further 10 minutes. The dish is ready when the Pecorino on top is golden and actively bubbling, and the edges show a slight caramelised colour.
7. 7
   Remove from the oven and rest for 5–10 minutes before serving. The layers should hold when portioned — a clean edge visible in cross-section. If the layers have set and the ragù is no longer fluid, the bake has succeeded.