I saw in the internet a recipe for “Instant Pot Polenta”. I was in disbelief. I did not believe it. So I decided to try it! I searched and the internet delivered! If you google Instant Pot Polenta; the internet will smack you in the head with recipes. Then I saw that Bon Appétit had a recipe. And I saw it and it seemed straight forward enough. Then I saw their video and I thought: self, you can do this. So I did.

It was simple, straight forward, comforting and that is all I wanted! My twist? I had some leftover carnitas, so I topped the polenta with some carnitas, Parmesan cheese, green onions and I had some chipotle sauce. What was the end product? A silky, smooth, and creamy polenta, with some crunchy, salty carnitas. The chipotle sauce (with you can honestly just put some hot sauce), gives it that extra kick!

So, Bon Appétit’s recipe. You can find the video here:

Compared to Bon Appétit, I added one more tablespoon of butter, because I live on the edge. I only used parm (instead of pecorino, because I only had parm), and the rest of the ingredients were leftovers. This will be a staple now, because you can use the polenta as a way to use all of your leftovers!

How to make it:

Bon Appetit’s polenta recipe:

• 1 cup of polenta
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (I added one more. So 4, for me)
• Parmesan cheese (as much as little as you want)
• Instant Pot!

How to make it!

• In the IP, add the polenta, salt, pepper, and 4 cups of water and mix well. Using the pressure cooker setting, set to cook the polenta for 9 minutes.
• After the 9 minutes, let it release the pressure BY ITSELF. Don’t be me. I was not patient and I quick released and almost had polenta ALL OVER the kitchen. Be smart. Follow Bon Appétit’s recipe. Don’t be Jose.
• Add the butter and ALL OF THE CHEESE. Whisk until all of the polenta goodness looks amazing.

Put it all together.

• I had some leftover pernil/carnitas, you can find my recipe here and here. I also had some chipotle sauce from that carnitas recipe! Follow that recipe, if you need a fresh batch. If you are working with leftover like me, place the amount of carnitas or pernil into a sheet pan and broil for 5 minutes for amazing crunchy/saltiness.
  
• In a bowl, add one or two ladlefuls of polenta, top with carnitas or pernil, add more cheese (because why not), and then I had some green onions that a chopped for some green. The chipotle sauce or hot sauce just gives it some pop and some zip.

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