Polenta! Gotta love it! Again, I'm intrigued by how many people don't know what polenta is, but to be fair, everyone knows what cornmeal or grits are, so maybe it's just a semantics issue... Polenta is a course ground yellow cornmeal, and it's great, it's such a hearty fare and versatile, too. It's Italian comfort food on par with pasta, in my humble opinion (blasphemy for an Italian to compare anything to pasta!). There are a few things I do to enhance the natural goodness of the polenta. First, I always cook it in chicken stock, for savory dishes, of course. (On that note, I never cook rice in water either, always in a stock). I find it gives it a much better flavor than water. So the basic ratio is 3 to 1 (water to polenta) but then that's almost misleading because there are varying stages of thickness depending on your desired use. I like to spread the polenta on a pan and let it set while it cools then cut it into small bite size squares and top with pesto or red pepper sauce or tomato sauce. However, if you're looking for a side dish, and a porridge type consistency, cut back to maybe 1 3/4 c or even 1 1/2 c of polenta per 6 c of stock. Any stock will work, too, chicken, beef, vegetable, etc. Once it's cut into squares you can also grill it in a lightly greased grill pan if desired. If that is the plan, though, make sure you start with a thick enough consistency. So, it's pretty easy once you have figured out your measurements. Bring stock to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and slowly pour polenta in while whisking. You will want a pretty heavy pan since there is a lot of stirring involved. On that note, stir. You want to make sure there's enough liquid so the polenta cooks as well. It will thicken pretty quick, here you will have some control of how thick you want it. Once it's reached the desired thickness, and polenta is tender, I then add some cheese (as much as you want, you can never have too much cheese, maybe 1 1/2 c - 2 c per "6 to 2" batch) like romano, asiago, or parmesan (the real stuff, not the "shakey" cheese, as the kids say, that comes in a can). Make sure the cheese melts, then, either serve hot as a side, or let cool to eat as an appetizer. That's it, very easy. So easy, in fact, that even a non-Italian can make it! Kidding, of course.
So, there it is, easy, versatile, and delicious. For my local peeps, the best polenta I have found is at ChefSmart. It comes in a 5# yellow burlap sack. As a matter of fact, here's a pic!
As always, experiment and enjoy.
Buon Appetito!
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