POLENTA

WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?

Polenta is a kind of cornmeal. Very popular in the northern regions of Italy, the cornmeal used for polenta can be more or less finely ground. Usually yellow, it can also be fine and white as in Veneto and Friuli. It needs to be cooked for a long time: 40 minutes to 1 hour—45 minutes is needed to make it properly digestible. If you don’t have the time, you can buy quick-cooking polentas that are ready in 5 minutes. Nevertheless, I recommend you try traditional polenta cooked the old-fashioned way, as it has a much better taste and texture!

A LITTLE HISTORY

The corn for making polenta comes to us from the Americas. It was first grown in Veneto towards the end of the sixteenth century. For a long time this plant has enabled people to feed themselves, feed their livestock, warm themselves and fill their mattresses (with the dry corn husks). Polenta also has the advantage of being easier to make than bread! A rustic and convivial dish, polenta has the added benefit of being suitable for people with gluten allergies, as it doesn’t contain any.

BASIC RECIPE

To cook polenta follow the instructions on the packet. Pour cooked polenta onto a wooden board or into a dish and allow to set before you grill or fry it.

HOW SHOULD IT BE SERVED AND WHAT WITH?

Grilled polenta: Polenta is served grilled as an aperitif snack with baccalà mantecato, sausage, meat or fish. To grill, cut cooked polenta into 1 cm (¹/₂ inch) slices and place them in a very hot frying pan or on baking paper under the oven grill. Sear on both sides.

Pan-fried polenta: Brown slices of cooked polenta in a little butter or olive oil.

Deep-fried polenta: Cut cooked polenta into sticks and deep-fry in oil. They’re a replacement for chips!

Soft polenta: Soft polenta is eaten with small prawns, cuttlefish in ink, baccalà alla vicentina , cheese such as Gorgonzola, or with fried mushrooms . For dessert, it’s found in the recipes for zaletti biscuits and pinza.

THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

The paiolo is the polenta pot. It is made of copper and has a rounded base. There is an electric version of the paiolo (for those who don’t want to spend their time stirring!). You also need a large wooden spatula and a wooden board to pour the cooked polenta onto, otherwise you can use a dish or mould that will shape the polenta. At my home in Veneto, polenta is cut on a wooden board with kitchen string.