Polenta

From: 3KillerBs

On Jan 27, 2009

Not a recipe for a beginner. With no indication of what heat to use, how thick is too thick, or any other such details I had to give up with a sore shoulder after an hour of stirring a paste so thick I could stand my wire whisk with the long, heavy handle in it. I glopped it out into the pan I had ready for molding and stuck it into a slow oven to try to bake the raw taste out of it.

From: kwlabear

On Jul 15, 2008

This stuff is fantastic! When I don't want to buy polenta, this is what I use to make my veggie polenta lasagna! It's a great sub for wheat ingredients for celiac sufferers.

From: Elisa72

On Mar 29, 2008

I wanted a recipe for plain, authentic Italian polenta and this fit the bill! It's the same basic recipe as the one in my Northern Italian Cooking cookbook so I didn't have to add yet another polenta recipe to 'zaar! The only thing I would add to the very clear instructions here is that my cookbook says the polenta is done when it comes away cleanly from the sides of the pot. That may make it a little easier to tell when it's done. Thanks for this great recipe!

From: jilkat25

On Feb 27, 2005

This was the first time I had made polenta completely from scratch. I definitely wanted a polenta that would “set up” fast and that didn’t have cheese in it. I thought it might be runny so I measured out 3 cups of polenta and 7 cups of water. It dissolved just fine, no lumps, and I stirred it constantly with a strong wisk, thinking it would lose its graininess and raw taste in about 15 or 20 minutes. Uh, no! I ended up adding at least 3 more cups of water at one point or another and stirred that pot for a solid hour!! I finally had to get ready to go to a meeting so I chucked the whole business into a big glass bowl greased with olive oil and put it in the microwave on high for 10 minutes. Before I left the house I put part of it into a fish-shaped mold and part into a dozen little ring molds and just let them rest upside down (so they didn’t dry out) until I got home later. I used the rings as a base for some Italian sauteed tender beef with fresh herbs, tomatoes and with sliced artisan mozzerella cheese. Everyone loved them, but my arm was sore for days! I used the large mold the next day. I sliced it in half long-wise and “frosted” the center with a ricotta mixture like you’d put in lasagna and put more of that all around the “fish” in a baking dish, also piled with spinach that I had steamed with garlic. I baked it covered about 40 minutes or til the ricotta had set. I had turned the little bit of leftover beef I had into a marinara sauce and spooned that over it at the table. It was super yummy!!