BASIC POLENTA

Basic Polenta

Read the notes at the bottom of the recipe before you proceed!

• YIELD
6 servings

• TIME
About an hour

Polenta is basically cornmeal mush, and it can be made with any kind of cornmeal, ground coarse, medium or fine. (You don’t need bags marked “polenta.”) As with most ingredients, though, the better the cornmeal you start with, the better your result in the kitchen. The trick is cooking the polenta for a sufficient amount of time. You must allow the cornmeal to swell and become fully cooked. That way, you emphasize the sweet corn flavor and don’t end up with something bitter and lame. Yes, it takes a long time. But it’s worth it — and you can fry the leftovers tomorrow night in a snap

INGREDIENTS

• Salt and pepper

• 1 cup medium or fine cornmeal

• Butter

• Parmesan for soft polenta, optional

PREPARATION

1 For firm polenta use 4 cups water; for soft polenta use 5 cups water. Bring water to a boil in a medium-size heavy sauce pan over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Pour cornmeal slowly into water, stirring with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. Continue stirring as mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.

2 Turn heat to low. Cook for at least 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. If polenta becomes quite thick, thin it with 1/2 cup water, stir well and continue cooking. Add up to 1 cup more water as necessary, to keep polenta soft enough to stir. Put a spoonful on a plate, let it cool, then taste. Grains should be swollen and taste cooked, not raw. Adjust salt and add pepper if you wish.

3 For firm polenta, lightly butter a baking sheet or shallow dish, approximately 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Carefully pour polenta into pan. Using a spatula, spread polenta to a thickness of 3/4 inch. Cool to room temperature to allow polenta to solidify. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. For soft polenta, add 6 tablespoons butter to pot and stir well. Serve immediately or transfer to a double boiler set over low heat, cover and keep warm for up to an hour or so. (Or set the saucepan in a pot of barely simmering water.) Stir well before spooning into low soup bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired.

COOKING NOTES

Italian grandmothers not withstanding, adding corn meal to boiling water is an act of self-inflicted masochism.  I spent 35 years in the corn starch industry and corn meal is 90% corn starch.  No one in that industry would ever add starch to boiling water.  The result will be a lumpy mess, which will require either patience or a homogenizer to smoothen it.  Simply slurry the meal in cold water and heat it to boiling with periodic stirring and hold for 15-30 minutes.  Try it; you'll like it.

For 25 years I have been making oven polenta--easiest recipe ever and needs no "minding".  In a large pot or oven-proof bowl, put one cup of cornmeal.  Add 4 (+ or -) cups of water or stock or milk or combo.  Add teaspoon of Kosher salt.  Add (optional) a "knob" of butter.  Give a stir.  Put in oven at 350 (no need to pre-heat). Cook 30 minutes. Stir again.  Cook 15+  minutes til nearly all the liquid is absorbed.   Stir. Voila!  Polenta to use in any recipe.  EASY!