Polenta: Making it Great

 

       Polenta is an Italian food made from ground corn.  It is flavorful and incredibly versatile.  Today many supermarkets carry corn meal, instant polenta, and even pre-cooked polenta.  While all of these products are similar, nothing can beat the flavor of polenta made from quality cornmeal cooked in your own home.

    The shorter cooking time and convenience of instant polenta can be appealing, but the huge flavor difference is well worth the time.  This recipe only requires a few minutes of hands on attention at the start, an occasional stir as it cooks, and a few minutes to finish it off.

    I start with  an organic, coarse ground corn.  My favorite is Janie's Mill's stone ground yellow polenta.  

Basic Polenta Recipe

Ingredients:

250 grams (1 1/4 cups)  polenta

1 liter (4 1/4 cups)  water

salt to taste

Pour the water into a heavy bottom sauce pan or polenta pot and begin heating on the stove top on medium.  It's important to use a heavy bottom cooking pot.  This will allow the polenta to cook for a long time without scorching.

Pour in the uncooked polenta and stir constantly with a wooden spoon.  You will notice that at first the grains are separate from the water and sink to the bottom of the pot if you don't stir.  This is normal.    Keep stirring.  The grains of dry corn will begin absorbing the water and you will soon see the water and corn become one thick substance.

When the polenta in your pot begins to bubble, turn the heat to low.  

Stir in the salt now.  

Set a timer for 50 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  You can do other things while your polenta cooks.  You do not have to stir it often. Every 10 to 15 minutes will do it.  The polenta will be fairly thick now.

When the cooking time is done, turn the heat back up to medium and stir as it cooks another 5 or so minutes.  The goal is to cause the polenta to thicken even more.  You should be able to see more and more of the bottom of the pan as you cook and stir.

Scoop out the polenta and serve warm or shape and allow it to cool.  There will be a thin layer of cooked polenta that is stuck to the inside of your pan.  If you fill your pan with water and allow it to soak the polenta will loosen completely and make cleaning easy.