Polenta (Basic recipe and versions)

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Polenta (Prodigy)

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

BASIC RECIPE

 

Ingredients:

 

4 c Water

1 ts Salt

1 1/2 c Polenta (coarse cornmeal)

 

Directions:

 

BRING THE WATER TO A BOIL, add the salt, then whisk in the polenta, pouringit in a slow, steady stream so that lumps don't form. Lower the heat, andcook about 30 minutes, while stirring. Or cook the polenta in a doubleboiler over simmering water for 45 minutes, giving it a stir every 15minutes or so. If you wish to serve the polenta soft, keep it over the heatin a double boiler until needed. To make firm polenta, pour it into a panand set it aside; after a while it will cool and firm up. Turn it out ofits pan and cut it into 1/2-inch slices. To broil or grill the polenta,brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and cook until lightlybrowned. The slices can also be fried in butter or olive oil, either untillightly colored or until crisp, and they can be used as layers in acasserole.

 

Polenta Al Radicchio Ai Ferri (Polenta & Grilled Radicchi)

 

Yield: 8 servings

 

Ingredients:

 

Polenta, cooked as above

Olive oil

1 md Head radicchio

1/4 c Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Vinegar, optional

 

Directions:

 

Preheat a broiler or fire up a grill. Cut the cooled polenta into 11/2" X 3" rectangles & brush lightly with olive oil. To grill, cookthe polenta until it is lightly crispy & marked with thecharacteristic brown stripes on both sides. To broil, set thepolentaon a broiler pan about 4" from the heat & broil, turning once, untilthe slices are golden & slightly crisp at the edges. Remove & set ona platter.While the polenta is broiling, discard any bruised outside leaves ofthe radicchio, cut it in half lengthwise & then cut into quarters.Wash & dry each piece carefully. Drizzle half the olive oil over theradicchio & season with salt & pepper. Set on an oiled broiler or onthe barbecue. As the radicchio begins to soften & darken in colour,turn it to broil evenly.Using your fingers or a knife, tear or cut the grilled radicchio intosmall pieces. Arrange over the polenta & drizzle with the rest of theolive oil & vinegar if you desire. Taste for salt. Add freshlyground pepper & serve hot or at rom temperature.

 

 

Polenta Grits with Cilantro & Tomato Sauce

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 c Onion, chopped

1 Garlic clove; minced

1 ts Olive oil

2 c Water

2/3 c Yellow corn grits

1 md Fresh tomato; seeded-- and coarsely chopped

1/3 c Water

1/4 c Fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Green onion

1 Garlic clove; minced

1 pn Chili powder

1 pn Ground cumin

1/4 ts Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

 

Coat a nonstick saucepan with olive oil. Add onion and garlic andsaute over medium heat until soft. Add water and bring to a boil.Stir in grits, cover and cook 5 minutes or until water is absorbed.Stir well and spoon into a pie plate. Let grits cool until firmenough to slice.Prehea oven to 325 F. Cut polenta into triangles and place on alightly greased baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes, then turn and bake 5minutes more until the edges are crisp. Top with Cilantro & TomatoSauce.To make Cilantro & Tomato Sauce: Combine tomatoes with water in asmall saucepan. Cook until tomatoes are soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Pureetomatoes in a food processor or blender. Return pureeded tomatoes tosaucepan. Stir in cilantro, green onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin,salt and pepper. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until thickened.

 

Polenta Toscana (Tuscan Polenta)

 

Yield: 8 servings

 

Ingredients:

 

Polenta, cooked as above

3 tb Olive oil

2 ts Rosemary, chopped

2/3 c Walnuts, toasted & chopped

Salt & pepper

 

 

Directions:

 

Warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a small, heavy saute pan.Add the rosemary & walnuts & saute for 5 minutes. Do not let eitherone brown. Sprinkle the walnut mixture with salt & pepper & stirinto the cooking polenta about 10 minutes before it is completelycooked. Continue stirring & cooking until the polenta is ready toserve. Serve immediately or cool to make crostini.

 

 

Polenta with Tomatoes & Olives

 

Yield: 6 servings

 

Description:

 

8 oz Polenta

3 oz Stoned olives (optional)

 

----------------------------FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE----------------------------

 

1 1/4 lb (generous) canned tomatoes

1 lg Onion

1 tb Olive oil

Garlic, bay, rosemary, thyme-- (or herbs of your choice)

 

Directions:

 

Bring 1-3/4 pints salted water to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and addthe grain as though you were making porridge: let the polenta trickleslowly through your fingers and stir the contents of the pan veryvigorously all the time to prevent lumps forming. Cook over the gentlestpossible heat for about 20 minutes, stirring more or less continuously -like porridge and semolina, polenta is a great sticker. The mixture isready when it begins to come away from the sides of the pan, is perfectlysmooth and so thick that your wrist aches from stirring. Away from theheat beat in 1 tablespoon oil, the stoned olives if using them, and somesalt and pepper. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to grease the interiorof an 11-12 inch frying pan. Turn the polenta into the frying pan, pack itdown smoothly and level the top with an oiled spoon. Set aside for acouple of hours until the polenta is cold and solid. Loosen it with apalette knife, turn it out of the pan and cut into 6-8 wedges.To make the sauce, chop the onion finely and sweat it in the oil for 10-12minutes. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and their juices, several clovesof finely chopped garlic and a little bouquet of rosemary, bay and thyme,or plenty of well-flavoured herbs of your choice. Let the mixture bubbleaway gently for 40 minutes or so, just stirring occasionally, until reducedto a rich and fragrant sauce. Remove the bouquet of herbs, season withsalt and pepper and add extra fresh chopped herbs to taste.Fry the wedges of polenta in very hot olive oil or unsalted butter, or amixture of the two, for 4-5 minutes on each side until lightly crusted andheated right through. Serve piping hot with the garlicky tomato sauce, andwith a bowl of olives or grated Parmesan if you wish. In the Venetopolenta sometimes accompanies small silvery fried fish, or a dish ofFergato alla Veneziana. Quail or other tiny game birds threaded on toskewers and cooked on a spit, or a saute of chicken livers, and grilledsausages, are other good choices but polenta can be served on its own justas well.

 

Source: Philippa Davenport in "Country Living" (British), February 1988.

 

 

Flor

 

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Matthew 7: 7-8 KJV