Polenta, shortcut method, with variations

Traditional Italian cooked polenta

Traditional Italian cooked polenta

By Cat, Sept 8, 2014 (photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Includes: 1. Basic shortcut polenta; 2. Herbed-Ricotta Polenta; 3. Polenta with Fontina & Sun-Dried Tomatoes; 4. Blue Cheese Polenta; 5. Polenta with Yogurt, Lemon & Dill

Raw corn polenta is really just a type of cornmeal; if coarsely ground, it produces a firm, coarse polenta; if finely ground, it produces a creamy, soft polenta (6). Cooked polenta is a type of thick mush, made from corn or other starchy grains/pseudograins.

It is popular in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy. My first exposure to polenta was at a small Italian pizzeria and bistro in my neighborhood; they baked it, then served it with a light marinara that was really delicious. About that same time, pre-cooked polenta could be found in local groceries – all you had to do was slice it and heat it up for serving.

I’ve never made my own polenta from scratch (because traditionally it takes several hours to cook), so when I saw this recipe on Fine Cooking’s website, I was quite interested. I cannot eat it often (I’m on a low-carb eating plan right now), and will find it hard to eat up 9 servings before it goes bad. For this reason, I adapted the recipe for 2 – 3 servings and plan to try it very soon.

Basic Pre-soaked Polenta

This recipe is adapted from Fine Cooking.com (1) originally by Maria Speck. The shortcut key is soaking the polenta for up to 12 hours, before cooking it. This soak has nutritional advantages too.

The original recipe serves 9. I’ve reduced the ingredients to serve 3.

Ingredients & Equipment

  • ⅔ cup polenta (not instant or quick-cooking) or cornmeal
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup homemade chicken broth; more as needed
  • Unrefined sea salt (fine grind)
  • 0.7 oz. (⅔  cup) finely grated parmesan cheese; more for serving (or hard cheese of your choice, such as Romano)
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 – 3 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
  • small saucepan
  • whisk
  • wooden spoon or spatula

Method

Pre-soak the polenta: Put the polenta in a 4-quart heavy-duty saucepan and whisk in the boiling water. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 and up to 12 hours.

If you won’t use it right away, transfer it to the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 days before cooking.

Cook the polenta:

  1. Bring the broth to a boil in small saucepan; add salt to dissolve, then whisk into the polenta (in heavy saucepan), loosening it and breaking up any clumps.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.
  3. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and continue cooking, whisking constantly to avoid lumps, until polenta thickens (from soupy texture to porridge-like texture), about 2 minutes.
  4. Turn heat down to lowest setting. Cover pan and cook, removing cover to stir every couple minutes, for 5 – 10 minutes: stir vigorously, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula. Keep this up until you can see the pan’s bottom as you drag the spoon across it; then begin tasting the polenta for texture.It is done when thick, creamy, and tender. Texture should be granular, but not gritty.
  5. Remove from the heat; at this point you can continue with basic recipe as in next step, or try one of the other flavorings/accompaniments offered below.
  6. Basic traditional serving method: stir in the cheese, butter, and pinch of pepper until the butter is melted. Season to taste and serve right away, passing more cheese at the table.

Variations

Unless noted otherwise, the following flavor variations are also adapted form Fine Cooking.com, originally by Maria Speck, and have been modified to serve 2 – 3. See references as noted for each.

Variation 1: Herbed Ricotta Polenta

See also reference (2). You must have fresh herbs for this (not dried), so this may be a summer-only dish, depending on where you live.

Ingredients:

  • One recipe shortcut polenta, above
  • butter and parmesan as in shortcut polenta recipe, above
  • 1 – 2 Tbsp ricotta cheese (whole-milk ricotta preferred)
  • Herb mix: ⅓ cup (packed) fresh basil
  • 2 ½ Tbsp loosely packed fresh parsley (flat-leaf preferred)
  • 1 – 2 tsp loosely-packed fresh marjoram
  • pinch black pepper

Method

  1. Prepare polenta through step 5.
  2. While polenta cooks (step 4, above), pulse the herbs until finely chopped, but not so fine it forms a paste.
  3. Remove polenta from heat when done; stir in the parmesan and ricotta cheeses, butter, chopped herbs, and pinch pepper until the butter is melted. Season to taste and serve right away, passing more parmesan at the table.

Variation 2: Fontina, Sundried Tomatoes and Polenta

See also reference (3). The original calls for chopped sundried tomatoes but does not indicate when to add to the polenta. I think it should be added while the polenta is cooking, rather than later with the cheese. I will correct this per testing, if necessary.

Use dried herbs for this recipe.

Ingredients:

  • One recipe shortcut polenta, above
  • 2 – 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes
  • butter and parmesan as in shortcut polenta recipe, above
  • 2 – 3 Tbsp fontina, as ¼” – ½” dice
  • Herb mix: ¼ tsp each dried thyme and crumbled dried sage
  • pinch black pepper

Method

  1. Prepare polenta through step 5, adding the chopped sun dried tomatoes in step 4 when you cover and cook the polenta.
  2. Remove polenta from heat when done; stir in the parmesan and fontina cheeses, butter, herbs, and pinch pepper until the butter is melted. Season to taste and serve right away, passing more parmesan at the table.

Variation 3: Blue Cheese Polenta

See also reference (4). The original calls for blue cheese, but I would like this with gorgonzola, a special type of blue cheese from Italy.

Ingredients

  • One recipe shortcut polenta, above, except use ½ cup chicken stock and ½ cup whole milk instead of 1 cup chicken stock
  • butter and parmesan as in shortcut polenta recipe, above
  • ½ cup crumbled blue cheese (or gorgonzola)
  • pinch black pepper, or to taste

Method

  1. Prepare polenta through step 5, combining the chicken stock and milk in small saucepan, and bring to boil
  2. Remove polenta from heat when done; stir in the parmesan and blue cheeses, butter, and pinch pepper until the butter is melted. Season to taste and serve right away, passing more parmesan at the table.

Variation 4: Polenta with Yogurt, Lemon & Dill

See also reference (5). The original recipe calls for Greek yogurt; I make my own yogurt, then strain it to thicken into Greek-style yogurt (straining instructions provided).

Ingredients

  • One recipe shortcut polenta, above, except use ½ cup chicken stock and ½ cup whole milk instead of 1 cup chicken stock
  • butter and parmesan as in shortcut polenta recipe, above
  • ½ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt *
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill
  • scant tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest
  • pinch black pepper, or to taste

* NOTE: if you make your own yogurt, line a fine strainer with cheesecloth and place above a small bowl or measuring cup. Add about ¾ cup homemade yogurt to lined strainer, place in refrigerator and let the whey drip off into the small bowl until the yogurt is quite thick. This will take at least 4 hours. then measure ½ cup of the thickened yogurt to use in this recipe. See my post: Homemade Yogurt for more detail, both for making the yogurt and straining it for Greek-style yogurt.

Method

  1. Prepare polenta through step 5, combining the chicken stock and milk in small saucepan, and bring to boil
  2. Remove polenta from heat when done; stir in the cheese, yogurt, butter, lemon zest, dill, and pinch pepper until the butter is melted. Season to taste and serve right away, passing more parmesan at the table.

References

  1. Shortcut polenta: finecooking.com/recipes/shortcut-polenta.aspx
  2. Herbed-Ricotta Polenta: finecooking.com/recipes/herbed-ricotta-polenta.aspx
  3. Polenta with Fontina and Sun-Dried Tomatoes: finecooking.com/recipes/polenta-fontina-sundried-tomatoes.aspx
  4. Blue Cheese Polenta: finecooking.com/recipes/blue-cheese-polenta.aspx
  5. Polenta with Yogurt, Lemon, and Dill: finecooking.com/recipes/polenta-yogurt-lemon-dill.aspx
  6. Wikipedia on polenta (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta)

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