Polenta is one of our weeknight dinner mainstays. With Marcella Hazen's no-stir polenta technique, it's easy to make a pot while the rest of dinner prep goes on. And once made, there are so many ways we can use that polenta all week long.
Polenta the dish can be made from many things. The ingredient labeled "polenta" is most often coarsely-ground or finely-ground cornmeal. In fact, we can use plain old everyday yellow cornmeal interchangeably with actual polenta. Polenta can also be made from ground semolina, as is traditional in Northern Italy, or even ground buckwheat. Each has their own unique character and flavor.
When cooked with water or broth and finished with a handful of cheese, these grains turn into a thick, creamy porridge. A scoop of polenta is the perfect accompaniment to braised meat, hearty ragus, grilled vegetables, or roast chicken. One of my favorite weeknight meals is simply polenta topped with wilted greens and a fried egg.
Polenta will gradually firm up as it cools. If you pour leftover polenta into a loaf pan or 8x8 baking dish and refrigerate, the next day it will be thick enough to cut. You can roast the polenta cubes (or make polenta fries!), grill whole pieces, or dissolve them into soup to make a thicker stew. This firm polenta is also the start of Tuscan Polenta Gnocchi: layer rounds of firm polenta with cheese and bake until crisp and bubbly.
Give polenta a try with some of these dishes:
• Recipe Review: Marcella Hazen's No Stir Polenta • Barlotti Beans in Tomato Sauce Over Creamy Polenta • Pork Ragu and Semolina Gnocchi • Fried Eggs and Collard Greens Over Polenta • Polenta Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce from Epicurious
What do you do with polenta?
Related: Weekend Meditation: Harold and Paul Make Polenta
(Image: Charlotte Lake/Shutterstock)
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My mum's from an Italian family and we all LOVE the thing. We usually have it with a nicely onion-y tomato sauce and lots of cheese. I could use a bowl right now! Then fry it the next day to have it as appetizer.
We also use semolina for what we call Roman Gnocchi, which seem to be what you call Tuscan Gnocchi. And now I'm starving!
How about choux-polenta dumplings? Comforting but not stodgy. Good with soup or stew or sauce.
I also like to use corneal to make a crust for empanadas, like these with chipotle and roasted butternut squash.
I had a love-hate relationship with polenta until I came across the no-stir technique. I love the stuff but hated how it would always bubble up on me and invariably burn my arm, hand, etc. I now make it much more frequently. My daughter loves it, its a whole grain and because you can make it as decadent or as austere as your tastes allow, it tastes great. Whats not to love?
I went through a period of eating it for breakfast! I'd cook it up like oatmeal with half soy milk and half water, some cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, then top it with more milk and some blueberries. Yum!
There's a cafe in San Francisco's North Beach area that serves a soft polenta topped with a poached egg, blue cheese, bacon, and light drizzle of maple syrup. Incredibly good and the best of both worlds (sweet & savory).
I have only had polenta twice, and really liked it--but I never have ANY idea of what to do with it at home. Do you really just put some of it on a plate with other foods? I'm sorry to sound so dumb, but I would love to eat more of it. I just don't know what I'm doing!
I adore corn in all its forms -- including polenta.
But as a newly-transplanted to the south cook, can anyone tell me the definitive difference between grits and polenta?
@watchthesky84, I grew up with it, and here's how we generally served it:
>topped with tomato sauce, just as you would pasta
>topped with bitter greens and garlic, such as broccoli rabe
>next-day breakfast is polenta triangles fried in butter and sprinked with parmesan. I cannot tell you how good that is with a big cup of coffee.
When fresh, it's not so different from pasta or rice--what would you serve with those? When you're cutting it up to bake/fry/broil, think of it like the base of a crostini.
@mdorothy--there isn't one. It's the same thing.