Archive

ITALIAN RECIPES

Polenta

Homemade Polenta
Ingredients:
1 pound or slightly more of coarsely ground corn meal (you want corn meal the consistency of fine to medium-grained sand, not flour, and if possible stone-ground)
2 quarts boiling water (have more handy)
A heaping teaspoon of salt

Preparation:
Set the water on the fire in a wide bottomed pot and add the salt.
When it comes to a boil, add the corn meal in a very slow stream (you don't want the pot to stop boiling), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to keep lumps from forming.

Continue stirring, in the same direction, as the mush thickens, for about a half-hour (the longer you stir the better the polenta will be; the finished polenta should have the consistency of firm mashed potatoes), adding boiling water as necessary.
The polenta is done when it peels easily off the sides of the pot.
Serves 4.

Tips:
Making polenta from scratch like this takes a fair amount of effort, because you really do have to stir constantly, or the polenta will stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.
If you like polenta, you should consider purchasing a polenta maker, which is a pot with a motor-driven paddle that takes care of the stirring for you.

Remo suggests another method that is perfect if you plan ahead:
"My old grandmother taught me years ago how to avoid the drudgery of having to stir and stir and stir polenta. Put the basic recipie in a slow cooker. Cook on low over night (at least about 6 hours). In the morning you will have the smoothest, creamiest polenta you only dreamed about. A single portion can be made in a bowl set in water as in a double-boiler arrangement (level to match bowl contents) -- saves having to clean the cooker pot."

Polenta with Sausages
Ingredients:
A not too firm polenta, made with two cups of corn meal, or two one-pound packages of polenta
4 sweet Italian link sausages, about a pound in all
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 385º F (190 C)
Once the polenta is ready, spread it out about a finger thick, and slice it into strips. Meanwhile, cook the sausages in another pan with just a drop of water.
When they’re done, skin them and break them up, and mix them with the tomato sauce.

Put the strips of polenta in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle them with the Parmigiano, the sausages, and the butter. Heat the dish through in the oven, and serve. This is especially good as part of an informal lunch.
Serves four, and will be good with a Chianti d'Annata or perhaps a Dolcetto.

Polenta with Gorgonzola
Ingredients:
1 pound (450 g) corn meal for polenta
1 quart water
1 pint whole milk
3/4 pound (330 g) Gorgonzola
1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter

Preparation:
When polenta is almost done, melt the butter in a pot, without letting it crackle, and combine it with the cheese, stirring to obtain an even mixture.
Pour half the polenta onto a polenta board or a large serving platter, spread the cheese mixture over it, and cover with the remaining polenta. Serve steaming hot.

The wine? I'd go with a fairly acidic red, perhaps an unoaked Barbera or a Nebbiolo from the Alto Piemonte.

Polenta Milanese Style
Ingredients:
A fairly firm polenta made with 18 ounces (500 g) corn meal
12 ounces (300 g) lean beef, or the meat of choice
10 ounces (250 g) of your favorite mild salami (Milanese would be ideal)
10 ounces (250 g) fresh porcini or other wild mushrooms
A minced mixture consisting of 4 ounces (100 g) fat prosciutto, half a small onion, half a small carrot,
a 2-inch piece of celery, and a garlic clove.
Unsalted butter
2 1/4 pounds (1 k) blanched peeled seeded tomatoes, blended (you can use canned tomatoes here)
5 cups (250 g) freshly grated Parmigiano
1 cup dry red wine
A white truffle (you can omit this if need be, though the result won't be quite the same)
Flour
Salt & pepper to taste
A pinch of nutmeg

Preparation:
Once you have cooked up your firm polenta, pour it out on your work surface and spread it out to finger-thick with a knife, dipping the blade repeatedly in boiling water to keep it hot. Let it cool.
Rub the mushrooms clean with a soft cloth (only use water if you must), slice them, and sauté them until done in unsalted butter, seasoning them with a pinch of salt.

Heat the minced mixture in a skillet, together with the pieces of the meat and the salami, which should be diced.

Polenta Fritters Lodigiana Style
Ingredients:
Polenta made with 12 ounces (300 g; this should be about 3 cups) corn meal, 1 1/2 quarts (1.5 l) milk, and a pinch of salt
6 ounces (150 g) Swiss cheese, finely sliced
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
Abundant unsalted butter or olive oil for frying
A couple of lightly beaten, lightly salted eggs
Bread crumbs and freshly grated Parmigiano (proportions to taste, for dredging)

Preparation:
Once the polenta is cooked turn it out on a moistened work surface and spread it to finger-thickness with a broad-bladed knife, dipping it repeatedly in hot water. Let the polenta cool and cut it into 2-inch (5 cm) rounds.
Cut the slices of prosciutto and cheese into similar-sized rounds and lay one of each over half the polenta disks. Cover with the remaining disks.

When you are ready to fry the fritters, heat the oil. Dip the fritters in the egg, dredge them in the cheese and bread crumbs, and fry them until golden in the oil.
Serve at once, with a zesty red wine. An Oltrepò Pavese would be nice.

Polenta and Beans
Ingredients:
Polenta, made with a pound (450 g) of corn meal
3/4 pound (335 g) dried borlotti beans (substitute with kidney or black beans if need be)
2 ounces cured lard, ground (buy this at a delicatessen; it should be salted and seasoned with herbs, but not smoked)
1 shallot, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced parsley
3 leaves basil, minced
3/4 pound (335 g) tomato pulp, blended (you'll want a pound of plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped, or use canned tomatoes)
Flour
Olive oil
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Preparation:
Soak the beans overnight. The next day, boil them in water to cover, salting them to taste. In the meantime, combine the minced herbs and the lard, and sauté the mixture in a few drops of olive oil until the onion has browned lightly.
Stir in the tomato and simmer over a very low flame. As soon as the beans are cooked, drain them and stir them into the tomato sauce. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.

When it has cooled make the polenta. Stir the bean mixture into the polenta, spread it out, and let it cool. Cut the polenta and bean mixture into cubes, fry them until golden in hot oil, drain them on absorbent paper, and serve.
The wine? White, and I mught go with a Valcalepio from the hills behind Bergamo.

Buon appetito!

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