021 / 75 · Skillet Chicken and Turkey

Rosemary Chicken with Skillet Polenta

2 plates, each with half the rosemary chicken, soft polenta and tomatoes · Active 25 min · Total 1 hr

Print recipe · PDF

Fine cornmeal turns into soft polenta with a steady heat and regular stirring. It cooks in one deep skillet while rosemary chicken and tomatoes cook in another. This is ordinary cornmeal, not an instant packet: the longer simmer belongs in the plan. Two pans let the grain soften fully without asking the cooked chicken to wait through the whole process.

Jump to ingredients

Original hand-drawn illustration of rosemary chicken with skillet polenta.

Make a smooth beginning

Whisking the cornmeal into cool liquid before heating gives you time to disperse dry pockets. Once the pan warms, keep the heat low enough for gentle bubbles. Thick polenta can spit, so use a long-handled spoon and turn the handle away from the edge of the stove. Scrape across the base and into the corners regularly rather than stirring only a little circle in the center. Taste a cooled spoonful near the end: a grainy or chalky center needs more cooking and perhaps a little plain water. Fine and coarse meals have different cooking times; this recipe is written for fine yellow cornmeal.

Use rosemary as a seasoning

Strip the needles from the measured sprig and chop them finely. Large woody pieces remain unpleasant even when the chicken is cooked. Open the thigh pieces flat so they contact the pan, and add the rosemary near the end rather than letting it burn during the initial sear. The tomatoes then soften in the warm chicken pan while the cooked meat rests on a clean plate. A few collapsed tomatoes provide juices to spoon over the polenta without adding a separate sauce. Divide all three components between the plates. Milk is part of the grain base here; replacing it with water is possible, but the stated protein and calorie estimate would no longer describe that version.

Ingredients

  • 10 1/2 oz boneless skinless chicken thigh meat (300 g raw), opened flat
  • 2/3 cup fine yellow degermed cornmeal, not instant (100 g dry)
  • About 7/8 cup 2% milk (200 ml/about 206 g)
  • 1 1/4 cups drinking water (300 ml), plus up to 120 ml more if polenta needs it
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (200 g)
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced (3 g)
  • 1 small rosemary sprig, needles removed and finely chopped (2 g edible)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g), divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (0.3 g)

Set out

Deep 24 cm/9 1/2-inch nonstick skillet for polenta, 28 cm/11-inch skillet for chicken, Whisk and long-handled spoon, Tongs, Separate raw-poultry board and clean plate, Knife, Kitchen scale, Food thermometer, Two stove burners

Allergens

Milk; check cornmeal packaging for cross-contact information if relevant. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Whisk cornmeal, milk, 300 ml water and half the salt in the deep nonstick skillet while cold. Place over medium heat and stir until gently bubbling. Lower heat and cook for 25–35 minutes, or the fine-cornmeal packet time, stirring and scraping frequently. Add the extra water a little at a time if it becomes too stiff before the grains soften.
  2. While polenta cooks, season chicken with remaining salt and pepper. Heat oil in the second skillet over medium heat. Add opened thigh pieces and cook for about 6–8 minutes per side, adjusting heat to avoid burning, until every piece reaches 165°F/74°C. Add finely chopped rosemary for the last minute, turning the chicken through it. Transfer to a clean plate with clean utensils.
  3. Add tomatoes and garlic to the chicken skillet and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes until tomatoes soften and release some juice; scrape up browned residue without scorching the garlic.
  4. Check a cooled taste of polenta is soft rather than chalky. Divide it between 2 plates, add half the chicken to each and spoon the tomatoes and all measured pan juices over the meal.

A useful kitchen skill

Scrape the whole base of a thick grain mixture, and taste a cooled sample to distinguish fully soft cornmeal from merely thickened liquid.

A useful detail

The 60-minute total assumes two burners and fine cornmeal that cooks in 25–35 minutes. Coarse polenta can take substantially longer. The estimate matches dry fine yellow cornmeal directly rather than assuming an instant brand.

Another way

  • Use 300 g raw skinless chicken breast, flattened evenly, instead of thigh; check earlier for 165°F/74°C and recalculate for breast.
  • Replace rosemary with 2 g finely chopped fresh thyme leaves for a different seasoning; the estimate changes slightly.

Keep it well

Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers at 40°F/4°C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Use within 3 days. Reheat only the needed portion to 165°F/74°C throughout. Polenta firms in the refrigerator; loosen it with a little drinking water while stirring over gentle heat.