Shrimp w/ Cannelini & Pancetta and Baked Polenta with Mozzarella

Beretta is a sorta new restaurant in the Mission that does ‘Delfina’ style pizza.  I say their pizza is ok but their appetizers are amazing! We went back awhile ago and among the many things we ordered these 2 stood out: scampi with pancetta & cannellini and baked polenta with gorgonzola. soooo, i decided it didn’t seem that difficult and i would try recreate it since i started craving it immediately.

Shrimp with cannelini & pancetta:

Ingredients:

10 medium sized shrimps shells off and deveined (no frozen!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lemons

2 shallots, diced

2 tsps red pepper flakes

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1 can of white/cannelini beans

1/4 cup of italian parsley, chopped

1/2 cup of pancetta

2 tsps, dried oregano

s&p

olive oil

1) Marinate the shrimp with s&p, olive oil, 1/2 of the minced garlic, and 1/2 lemon juiced for about 10 minutes to an hour

2) In a large skillet, cook the shrimp literally about 1 minute on each side. overcooked shrimp is never good and set aside.

3) In the same pan, cook the pancetta until it starts to get crispy and set aside leaving some of the fat.

4) In the same pan, add the shallot and garlic and saute for about 3-5 minutes.

5) Add the red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.

6) Add the tomato and saute for about 3 minutes.

7) Add the drained beans, basil and oregano. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste and see if it needs more s&p.

Stir in the shrimp just to reheat and add the rest of the lemon juice.

9) Garnish with the parsley and basil and serve with some crusty baguette.

Baked Polenta with Mozzarella:

Ingredients: 

I could not for the life of me find polenta anywhere not TJ’s, not Safeway, not Whole Foods, not even a specialty store – there must have been a polenta shortage that particular day, so I used instant Polenta. The only thing they had at Safeway.

1 log of fresh mozzarella

2 cups of tomato sauce (i used from my reserves)

1) In a baking dish, ladle the 2 cups of tomato sauce on the bottom

2) Cut the polenta into 1/4 inch thick slices and arrange in the baking dish. Sprinkle a little s&p

3) Cut the mozzarella into thick slices but thinner than 1/4 inch thick and layer on top of the polenta. Sprinkle with a little s&p.

4) Bake in the oven according to the polenta package instructions. Check to make sure the mozzarella is nice and melted and bubbly.

What made the dish at Beretta was the polenta and sauce. I couldn’t find the right polenta but the instant satisfied my craving and got the job done. The tomato sauce reserves I used covered up for the instant polenta and of course the cheese.