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This is my new favorite way to make polenta. It is so simple and versatile. I found the basic recipe at dinnerthendessert.com. I’ve only ever made half Sabrina’s recipe because it makes too much for us. Even so, I’d say half her recipe still serves six people. I think we could get away with halving it again, but I’ve been pretty happy using up the leftovers (think eggs over polenta-yummy!). I think any kind of cheese would do, it just depends upon what you’re going to serve with it. I’ve used Parmesan. I’d like to see a slightly firmer product, but I’m working on it. I buy polenta, but Sabrina says you can use corn meal. Lastly, she also says you can stir in a lot of different things, like shallots or garlic or lemon. I haven’t yet tried that.
Since there are no wheat products in this, I think we can safely say it is gluten-free. I use polenta in the same way I use mashed potatoes.
- Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 3/4 cup polenta
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- Dash pepper
- 1 or 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together water, polenta, salt, pepper, and butter in a 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream and cheese. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes, uncovered. Serves 6.
Polenta is a good idea when you’re tired of the usual starchy dishes. It is basically corn meal mush allowed to firm up. It is then sliced and used as a base for sauce and/or cheese.
Polenta
4 cups water
1 cup polenta
Dash of salt
Bring water to a rolling boil and very slowly sprinkle polenta into the water while stirring all the while. Reduce the heat once it comes back to a boil. Continue stirring while the polenta simmers. As it thickens it begins to splatter. Once it’s fairly thick, it’s okay to leave it for a couple minutes at a time, so stir frequently instead of constantly. A spatter guard is a huge help. The process of simmering and stirring takes about 25 minutes. The polenta should be quite thick. Coat a 8×8″ square pan with olive oil and pour the polenta into it. Smooth out the top with a spatula as best you can. Once it’s cooled a little, place it into the refrigerator for an hour or longer.
Polenta is a much larger and rougher grind than corn meal. Here is one cup of polenta.
Stir constantly at first until the polenta absorbs the water evenly.
Once it starts to thicken you will want a spatter guard on it. You should stir frequently, instead of constantly.
Looks thick enough now. 25 minutes has elapsed.
Voila! Polenta.
I have to confess that I’ve never had polenta outside of what I’ve made myself in my own kitchen. I’m assuming I’ve done it right because it tastes good. I’ve seen prepared polenta in plastic tubes at the grocery. It looks like you would slice the tube into rounds and then assemble the dish that way. Someday I may try that.
Polenta Parmesan
Prepared polenta
Mozzarella
Favorite marinara-type sauce
Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
Cut the 8×8″ pan of polenta into 9 squares. Lift out each square, turn it so you see the short side, and slice in half. Now you have eighteen slices, roughly the same size. Lay nine of the squares out on a baking dish (a 9×13″ will work, but another size might work better-see below) which has been coated with olive oil. Top each polenta square with a piece mozzarella, then sauce. Then top the sauce with another slice of polenta, cheese, and sauce. Sprinkle the whole thing with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Cut polenta into squares and lift out of the pan.
Here are the slices.
My sauce has BIG chunks of Italian sausage in it, so my little polenta stacks look a bit topsy-turvy. TASTES great. Doesn't present very well, though. Sigh. See what you can do. My nine polentas wouldn't fit in the pan so I split one in half, it's on the right side of the picture.
Just before it goes into the oven.
Finished.
Serve! Goes well with Eggplant au Gratin.
