Polenta is a typical dish from the north of Italy, based on maize or corn meal.
Its best eaten in winter, served on it’s own or with stewed or slow-cooked meat, game, typical sauces, cheese or cod.
Methd (6 people)
- 500g maize or corn meal
- 2l water
- salt to taste
Bring the water to the boil in a large pot, add salt and mix in the maize little by little, mixing all the time until it reaches the desired consistency.
The cooking time required is about 45 minutes, on a low heat, mixing to avoid the maize sticking at the bottom of the pot.
It’s difficult to give exact quantities when it comes to the corn meal –water ratio due to the differences in corn meal available so you have to check it from time to time to achieve your preferred thickness.
In the photo you can see the hot polenta, just made served with hare “in civet”
It’s fantastic with stews, braised rabbit, cod or game.
Another really delicious idea is to pour it into a baking tray when it’s just been prepared and adding cheese (fontina, stracchino, gorgonzola, grated parmesan, butter) or ragu made with pieces of local sausage, placing it under a hot grill to brown.
Left overs…
If there is any leftover let it cool and cut it in slices of about 1 cm thickness and fry it in a little oil until it browns and crisps a little on both sides, serve it with cheese, jam or a fried egg.
We grow our own “8 file” highest quality corn for our own use, fantastic for polenta.
It’s harvested in the month of October, the husks are tied and left to dry in bunches, the kernels are removed and ground in a small flour mill, giving a wholemeal -flour of the highest quality.