Kazia Jankowski - big world | small kitchen

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Pan Seared Polenta & Pears with Gorgonzola Sauce

At approximately 4 p.m., on the wedding day of my friends Hannah and Zach, the sky clouded over. At 4:30 p.m. when the outdoor ceremony was scheduled to begin, those clouds opened and pounded the earth with big heavy droplets. Hannah and Zach didn’t balk. There was plenty of Champagne in the bridal suite, and they knew that if they waited until 5 p.m., in true Colorado fashion, the blue sky and brilliant sun would return. A half-hour delay was little price to pay for the life to come: new businesses, new homes, and most immediately, kids.

When the sky did clear, a little later than expected, the evening whirled from a watery walk down the aisle to a teary ceremony to cocktail hour. Before I knew it, I found myself, in my bridesmaid dress with a glass of wine, standing next to the barbecue. I wondered about my own wedding future. In one or two years, I’d be the same ages as Hannah and Zach, but I somehow I couldn’t imagine my white dress or matrimony.

Next to that grill, and its neighboring wood-burning oven, all I could think of was Argentina. The wedding chef, who carefully laid golden squares of polenta and pear wedges over a charcoal flame, looked the picture of rustic Argentine elegance. As if on another day, I might find him manning the wood-fired pizza ovens of Bariloche, Patagonian lamb roasts, or breezy patio barbecues outside of Buenos Aires. But that night, he simply layered the seared polenta and caramelized pears with creamy Gorgonzola sauce and sent the appetizers out to the crowds. As I watched him, I knew, in a gut-deep kind of way, that I wasn’t likely to get married unless it involved something like an actual Argentine (or maybe Peruvian or Portuguese) wood-burning oven and grill—and promises of a family raised next to the seaside of one of those countries.

A somewhat outlandish idea, I know. But I confess this wasn’t the first time I’d had it. Ever since college, I’ve imagined how I might form my own family, and I always returned to the same basic idea: a tightly knit crew living in an unconventional location. Any other possibility makes me cringe. A future of PTA meetings at the same schools I attended or balancing parenthood with a full-time, American job sounds both terribly ordinary—and awfully stressful.



Luckily, though, I don’t have to worry about those details quite yet. Potential grooms don’t exactly line up by the hundreds for Argentine weddings in the rain. So instead, I’ve turned my attention to the part of the Argentine wedding that is mostly easily attainable: the food. Specifically, grilled polenta and pears with Gorgonzola sauce. I don’t remember the exact recipe from Hannah and Zach’s wedding—and my small apartment has neither a grill nor a wood-burning oven. But I’ve found that, with a cast iron skillet and a bit of imagination, I can make a reputable rendition of my friends’ wedding appetizer.

My recipe is fairly straightforward. I start with Whole Foods’ yellow grits and the grilled polenta recipe of Argentine celebrity chef Francis Mallmann. I tweak both to end up with a creamy polenta, which I immediately chill. While that’s in the fridge, I whisk flour with hot melted butter, white wine, salty chicken broth, whipping cream, and mild, blue-veined Gorgonzola. The resulting sauce has a gentler flavor than it’s namesake ingredient. Then, I cut white pears into thumbprint-sized cubes. Finally, I turn to the skillet. Careful not to crowd the ingredients, I sear the pears, then the polenta. Once all the pieces are in place, I slide these pan-seared bites of polenta and pear onto a toothpick, along with a dollop of Gorgonzola sauce. In each bite, the earthy polenta crumbles into the slightly firm, sweet pear. Buttery Gorgonzola mingles with both. It’s a bite of contrasting textures and flavors that is nuanced and elegant—sort of like marriage itself.

A note from Big World | Small Kitchen: A special thanks to The Kitchn for helping spread the word about this recipe.

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