For many years I did not eat polenta. I had it once many years ago, and I remember it as very bland and I hated the texture. A few years later I had it again, didn't know it came with a dish I ordered and I was a bit grumpy when I saw the polenta on the plate before me. I had a small taste and OMG, it was amazing. Creamy, tasty and with a nutty taste of parmesan. I loved it. Isn't it funny how things can change like that? The first polenta I had was just poorly made, while this was made with love. This is my basic recipe for polenta. Enjoy!

Basic polenta
Serves 6 to 8
10 cups cold water
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 cups coarse-ground polenta
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1. Put 6 cups cold water and salt in a large pot, and bring to a boil. 2. Bring remaining 4 cups cold water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. 3. Add polenta to the large pot. 4. Whisk constantly until combined. 5. Reduce heat until only a couple of large bubbles appear at a time. 6. Whisk 2-3 ladlefuls of simmering water into the polenta, stirring frequently with a spoon, until water has been absorbed. This takes about 5 minutes. 7. Continue to add 2 ladlefuls of water every 5 minutes, stirring often until polenta is creamy. 8. Season with pepper. 9. If you want soft polenta, stir in butter and top with parmesan.
4 servings soft polenta
1/3 cup blue cheese, like Roquefort, crumbled
4 chervil springs, for garnish
Creamy
polenta with sautéed mushrooms
Serves 4
2
tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon
extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots,
thinly sliced
2 pounds
mixed mushrooms, like shiitake, button etc, trimmed and quartered
1/2 cup
Madeira
3
tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
freshly
ground pepper
- In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat.
- Add shallots, stirring until soft.
- Add mushrooms and cook stirring until golden brown.
- Add Madeira and parsley and cook, stirring to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until liquid is reduced to half.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Serve on hot creamy polenta topped with blue cheese and chervil.
TIP:
Photography by
Colin Cooke
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