Recipes
Polenta |
About this recipe
Polenta is cornmeal. Before it became trendy, people used to eat it because it was cheap. Now we never have it. Try it out; it’s good (and cheap).
Instructions
Bring to a boil:
- 8 cups water,
- 2 tsp. salt.
Turn burner to lowest setting and whisk in:
- 1 lb. (2 cups) cornmeal (one handful at a time).
Leave on burner for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a big honking wooden spoon to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Then shut off burner and let set for 10 minutes.
Spread onto dinner plates, about ½ inch thick. Top with Ragù Sauce made with mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, or sausages fried in olive oil.
Notes
- If you’re short on cornmeal, mix in a little semolina.
- The thicker version served with fish sauce on Christmas Eve is called polentone.
- If making polentone to eat with fish sauce, let cool longer (outside if it’s winter) so it hardens.
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You can also fry polenta. In this case, let it harden before putting into pan. Frying makes it even harder, kind of like a corn biscuit. Then top with some form of sauce.
