Skip The Cornbread And Pair Chili With These Savory Italian Grilled Cakes Instead

While there's nothing wrong, per se, with accompanying your favorite basic 3-bean vegetarian chili with some sweet cornbread, even this classic combination can start to feel stale after a while. Enter polenta, the naturally gluten-free side dish you've been sleeping on. Hearty, creamy, and savory, polenta is an Italian-style side made from cornmeal that's been boiled into a porridge consistency and flavored with delicious things like Parmesan cheese, butter, good salt, and freshly cracked pepper. It's often used as a one-to-one swap with pasta, serving as a fluffy, delicious bed for Bolognese or grilled seafood.

Though serving your chili this way would be deliciously rustic and comforting, grilled polenta cakes fit the bill even better. Polenta may start out soft and creamy, but when chilled in a casserole dish, it firms up enough to slice into squares that can then be placed on the grill. As they develop beautiful, earthy char marks, these polenta cakes warm from the outside in, developing crisp exteriors and tender, creamy middles. Over medium-high heat, this should take about 3 minutes per side. Paired with bites of spicy chili, this creates a luscious flavor profile that feels elevated and artisanal.

Whether you're grilling your polenta on a grill outdoors or in a cast iron grill pan, it's important to handle these corny little cakes gently, as they can be delicate. Additionally, you'll want your grill or grill pan to be well-oiled to prevent them from sticking.

Like most other mild-tasting grain preparations, polenta is really just a tasty vehicle for your favorite flavors, meaning you can adjust the seasonings mentioned above to align with how you season your chili. For instance, instead of Parmesan cheese, you could use an aged, sharp white cheddar along with seasonings like cayenne pepper, dried chili flakes, or even your favorite barbecue dry rub. If it pairs well with chili and corn, it'll taste good in these polenta cakes.

Additionally, if you simply don't have the time to boil, chill, and slice polenta cakes from scratch to pair with a bowl of spicy slow cooker beef chili, you can always take a shortcut and purchase hard polenta from your grocery store, usually found in the refrigerated section. Hard polenta is simply polenta that's been precooked and chilled until it's firm and holds its shape, similar to the previously described process. To pair it with your chili, simply slice it like you would a tube of cookies and grill it to roasty perfection.

The biggest disadvantage to using store-bought polenta versus homemade is that these tubes are usually pretty bland, though you can still season the outside with chili-infused olive oil, garlic powder, or whatever suits your fancy. However, if you'd like a deeper, richer flavor inside your polenta cakes, it's best to make them ahead of time and chill overnight, and you can simply give them a grill when you're ready to eat.