Recipes:
Soft Polenta
Serves 4-6
6 cups water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup coarse or medium-grind polenta
1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup Parmigiano cheese, grated
This method is a great
way to avoid lumps:
Pour 3 cups of water into a large heavy pot and turn to high heat,
add the salt and cornmeal. Stir while the mixture comes to a boil.
Meanwhile, boil the remaining three cups in another pot or a kettle.
Once the polenta boils then lower the heat and let simmer, stir
occasionally until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add
1 cup of the remaining water and continue to cook the polenta
until it is tender and without any hard grains, about 20 to 50
minutes. Continue to stir occasionally. Make sure you stir the
polenta on the bottom of the pot up to the top so that it does
not burn. You may have to add the additional two cups but it will
depend on the age and type of polenta. Once the polenta is tender,
add the pepper, butter and olive oil and stir. Then add the Parmesan
and stir again. Remove from heat. Serve.
Firm Polenta - to
make grilled, fried, or broiled polenta
Follow the directions
for soft polenta. But before you add the butter and cheese the
polenta should be on the thick side as well as having soft grains.
This will help ensure that the polenta will firm up.
Method One:
Once you have added the oil and cheese, let the polenta stand
for about ten minutes in the pot off the heat. Line a casserole
dish with parchment paper or waxed paper. Brush with olive oil.
Pour the polenta onto the sheet. Then oil a second piece of paper
and place it with oil side down on top of the polenta. Let cool
for 20 minutes at room temperature and then refrigerate for an
hour. If you are going to let it sit in the refrigerator longer
than an hour, cover the entire dish with plastic wrap, too. When
you are ready to cut into shapes, remove from the refrigerator
and take off top layer of paper. Cut with knife or cookie cutter
to make decorative shapes.
Method Two:
You can mold polenta into shapes. Brioche tins or muffin pans
make great molds. Brush olive oil into the molds and pour polenta
into the molds. Let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes and
then refrigerate. The polenta shapes will slip out fairly easily
and if they don't, simply run a knife along the outside and let
a little air in and then try again.
Various Soft Polenta
Toppings
- 1 - Crumbled Gorgonzola
cheese, walnuts and a drizzle of olive oil
- 2 - Sautéed Morels
in Butter and cream
- 3 - Sage Pesto or
Basil Pesto
- 4 - Chopped Fresh
Rosemary and Tallegio Cheese
- 5 - Tomato Sauce
- 6 - Poached eggs with
polenta. This is very similar to having grits with breakfast,
which is a white ground cornmeal.
Suggestions for serving soft polenta as a side dish
- 1 - Roast Chicken
- 2 - Osso Bucco
- 3 - Meat Ragu
- 4 - Broiled Fish
- 5 - Lemon Chicken
- 6 - Ratatouille
- 7 - Artichokes
Grilling, Frying
and Broiling Hard Polenta
Make sure that the
polenta is cold before re-heating. The shapes tend to look and
hold together better if you first dredge the shapes in beaten
egg and flour or cornmeal. This step is optional.
Grilling:
The grill should be clean so the polenta won't stick to the
bits on the grill. Warm the grill to medium and place the polenta
on the grill for three minutes so it is well marked with grill
lines then carefully flip over with a spatula and cook for another
three minutes. Frying: Heat some olive oil in a large skillet
over medium heat. Place each piece of polenta into the pan without
overcrowding. Work in batches instead. Add more olive oil as
needed and make sure it re-heats between batches. Each shape
should be cooked about four minutes per side or until they begin
to turn a golden color. Remove the shapes from the pan and let
drain on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
Broiling:
Preheat the broiler. Lightly oil a baking sheet and place the
shapes on the pan. Place in broiler until the top begins to
turn golden. Remove pan from broiler, close broiler, so as not
to loose the heat. Turn the shapes over and place back into
broiler until golden.
Various
Grilled/Broiled Polenta Toppings
-
1- Grilled Tuna,
leeks sautéed in butter and sliced fresh cherry tomatoes drizzled
with balsamic vinegar
-
2- Mozzarella slices
and Basil Pesto - It is even better when you grill, fry or broil
the Polenta with the pesto spread on top and then the mozzarella
on top of that so the cheese begins to melt
-
3- Caramelized Onions
-
4- Goat Cheese and
olive tapenade
Polenta "Lasagna"
Serves 6
One Recipe of hard
polenta
2 cups ricotta
2 cups meat sauce
1 cup Mozzarella, grated
When you pour
the polenta to make the sheets of hard polenta, pour into several
baking pans so that you make three thin layers that are about
½ thick. Once the layers are cooled, slice into 2-3 inch strips
so they resemble lasagna.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place one layer of the polenta
slices on the bottom of a lightly oiled lasagna dish. Spread
a layer of ricotta cheese on top followed by a layer of meat
sauce. Place another layer of polenta with additional layers
of ricotta and meat sauce. Repeat the step one more time but
these layers of ricotta and meat sauce should be slightly thinner
that the bottom two. Bake in the top part of the oven for about
15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the mozzarella.
Place back in the oven and cook until the cheese melts and slightly
bubbles, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for
about five minutes before serving.
Variation:
You can make this vegetarian with tomato sauce and for an extra
delicious touch; add thinly sliced zucchini.
Scallops with Hard Polenta and Salsa
Serves 6
1 recipe hard polenta
1 pound fresh scallops
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons lemon zest
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
juice of 1 lemon
1 ½ cups salsa or corn salsa
Make one batch of hard polenta. If you cut the polenta into
triangles or mold them into shapes the presentation will be
really enhanced. Broil or fry up the polenta pieces.
Rinse the scallops. Combine flour, zest, flour and pepper in
a dish. Add the scallops to the dish and toss around so they
are well coated. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium
heat. Add the scallops and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the lemon
juice and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from pan and pour the
salsa into the pan and just warm very slightly. Arrange the
polenta pieces on a platter. Pour salsa over the top and spoon
the scallops on top. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
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Gabriella True has
had a passion for cooking since the day her Mom let her pound
down the freshly risen dough created from her Grandmother's
bread recipe. In fifth grade she chose Julia Child as her hero
to write about in English class. Growing up in the heart of
New York City she was able to avidly explore the foods of the
world. Since then she has catered small parties and spent hours
writing and testing recipes to share with her loyal audience.
She began writing about food, its culture and history through
her association with Splendid
Palate. You can contact the author directly via email at
Gabriella@splendidpalate.com
