Cornmeal mush, native to Southern
Italy. Wait...it tastes a lot better than it sounds. Often compared to
grits.
How to make a pretty good batch of Polenta
- Get some water boiling. Not really rolling, just kinda simmering. For one, make it about a cup, maybe a cup and a half of water.
- Get some sort of impliment to dish the polenta into the water.
- Slowly dish the polenta (around a third to a half of a cup per person) into the water with one hand while constantly stirring the mixture with the other. Stop when the mixture looks like the cornmeal is floating and completely covering the water. (Bear with me...the effect is hard to describe)
- Is it boiling? Turn it down! You want the polenta to cook slowly.
- Stir it almost constantly, keeping the heat pretty low. You want steam to come up out of the polenta, but you don't want it to bubble vigorously.
- While it's cooking (and in between stirrings), grate some parmesan cheese. About a handful is good for one. Adjust accordingly.
- When the mixture gets really hard to mix (this should take between 10 and 15 minutes if you've been cooking it properly), throw in a pat or two of butter and the parmesean cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spoon some on your plate, sprinkle some of the leftover parmesean on it, put on some rosemary if that's your thing, and enjoy.
Put the leftover polenta in a container, throw it in the
fridge. Tomorrow you can cut a slice or two of the solidified polenta, make a
tomato sauce, and enjoy it again.