What is Polenta?
Polenta is coarsely ground yellow corn meal and is a staple of Northern Italy. It is served as an every day starch, either by itself with a little tomato sauce, or as a starch accompaniment to a protein as part of an entrée. Polenta is extremely versatile and absolutely delicious, making it a must know addition to any cooks technical repertoire.
Polenta Ratio
The basic ratio for polenta is 4 parts liquid to 1 part polenta. You can use any number of liquids to make polenta, from plain water, to chicken or veal stock to fish fumet. The decision on what liquid to use should be based on what the final application of your polenta will be.
Should I Use Water or Stock When Making Polenta?
As stated above, the liquid that you decide to use to make your polenta is based solely on what your desired flavor profile of the finished dish will be. One thing to take into consideration though is the effect your stock will have on the color of your polenta. Some darker stocks may turn your polenta a drab color, and make it look a little unappetizing (even though it probably tastes great). Remember, water is the classical choice.
Although a lot of polenta is made with just water, there is a little known secret that some restaurant chefs employ to enhance the flavor. That secret is, chicken base. No, not bouillon cubes, but an actual chicken “paste” that is added to the water to give it a chicken flavor. These bases are heavily salted to preserve the flavor, so when used carefully, it can add great salt content and flavor to your polenta, not to mention color.
If you use regular chicken stock, (and there is nothing wrong with that), once the stock is worked into the polenta, it would take away some of it’s vibrant yellow color because true chicken stock is not exactly golden yellow. Chicken base is. Although the use of chicken base is not widely used and is definitely not traditional, it is something to be aware of and to possibly experiment with.
Polenta Procedure
The procedure for making polenta is fairly straightforward. Just bring the appropriate amount of liquid to a simmer, and slowly stream in your polenta at the ratio discussed above.
Continue to cook over low heat for about 20-30 minutes. Most cookbooks along with your Italian Grandmother will tell you that you have to stir your polenta almost constantly throughout the cooking process. Although this is good advice, it’s not always absolutely necessary.
In our on demand world, most people don’t want to stand still over a pot of simmering water, mindlessly stirring it. A decent compromise is to stir it for the first 5 minutes to ensure no major clumping, then cover it with aluminum foil. Make sure your heat is on the “low” setting, set a timer for 25 minutes, and go open a nice bottle of wine.
Once the 25 minutes is up, go uncover your polenta. By now, the polenta has probably settled on the bottom of the pot with a layer of your cooking liquid on top. DON’T PANIC. Gently stir the liquid back into the polenta using a wooden, finish with as much butter as you dare and maybe a little touch of cream. Taste and check for final seasoning. Serve and enjoy
Polenta Serving Suggestions
Polenta makes a great dish on it’s own or you can serve it as a side dish. If you are going to serve the polenta as a stand alone dish here are some great serving tips.
- Finish your polenta with the cheese of your choice. Freshly grated Parmesan, mascarpone and goat cheese are some favorites.
- Stir in some fresh herbs. Chopped thyme, basil and tarragon are a good place to start.
- A flavorful tomato sauce poured over your polenta is a nice and impressive finish.
If you will be serving your polenta with meat:
- A nice reduction sauce goes great with polenta and is a good way to tie in the flavors of your entrée.
- Polenta serves as a great canvas on which you can paint a wide array of flavors. Taking your polenta to the next level as a side dish is as easy as stirring in some caramelized onions, sautéed wild mushrooms, truffle oil, or even freshly shaved truffle itself.
Other recipes and Uses
There are many other flavors and ways to use polenta, so I post this question to our community: What are some of your favorite ways to use polenta and what additional flavors do you like to add? Post your questions and comments below.
For more information, listen to The Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 4.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for your information on polenta. This is a great website, and I appreciate your straight-to-the-point discussion of this food. I have bookmarked your website.
Thanks for your comment Isaac. It’s good to know that you found the information on how to cook polenta helpful.
I enjoy eating fresh made polenta topped with the following fresh ingredients(straight from the garden if possible): tomatoes, basil, mozzarella(or goat cheese), and a drizzle of garlic olive oil – warmed under the broiler. Mmmmm, a perfect lunch paired with a crisp white wine.
Jacob,
Have you read Heat by Bill Buford? I actually found the book pretty boring until the part where he buys a whole pig from the farmer’s market and is trying to get it back to his NY apt. on his scooter. That sounds like something I would do.
Anyway, there is a part of the book where Buford describes cooking polenta for an extended period. Hours and hours. It sends him on a quest to recreate ancient recipes with it, as polenta is one of the oldest known foods. That part of the book is really quite interesting. I tried his method, cooking my polenta for 6 hours or so. It was interesting — good but I’m not sure I found it quite as sublime as the book’s author.
Some people seem to find an extra bit of inherent flavor when they over-complicate a simple peasant dish like polenta. I haven’t tried the 6 hour method so I’m not going to slam it, but if I cook something for 6 hours, I want the end product to be something more then just polenta. Not to mention that the recipe and technique above will give you an awesome product, especially when seasoned and flavored properly.
Thanks for the cooking tips Jacob. We always put our polenta on a tray and turn it into a kind of pizza with tomato relish and whatever the heck we feel like. The polenta becomes firm after a time. I believe you can BBQ it to with some herbs and parmesan.
@ Deb,
I love the idea of polenta pizza. I use to serve grilled polenta under a filet, and it always got rave reviews.
Hey Jacob,
I am attending Culinary Institute of Virginia. Currently in Culinary Funamentals right now that is the stewing, braising, frying class. Last night I asked my chef if I could pan fry some Polenta. I let the Polenta gelatinize in the frig overnight cut into squares and used the Standard Breading Procedure and the pan frying method. We fed one of our sister classes and they all wondered what this wonderful delicious fried square was with a crunchy brown outer texture and a creamy yumy inner texture. They were surprised to learn it was polenta.
You can also saute a half cup of onions in olive oil, throw in a little hot pepper seed, cook as above. Put the finished polenta in a pie dish, it firms up well after an hour or so and eat it at room temperature. Also, in this form, you can fry slices of it in olive oil. Cook the polenta until the outside is a crispy golden brown, the inside will be soft and tasty.
I recently made banana polenta as seen of Top Chef. The flavor was curiously fun but hard to suit as a side dish with a protein, though an interesting dessert is definitely possible. I have an idea to chill the mixture, lightly bread and fry the squares and top them with a berry reduction.
Kinda like a semiliquid platano…
If you should have any left-over polenta (not likely unless you make way more than you think you need), here’s a sublime, quick and easy meal for the next day.
As polenta cools, it sets up. After overnight in the fridge, it’s like a soft block. Cut the polenta into 1/3″ thick slices and saute in butter (I always add a bit of walnut oil, for extra flavor, and so the butter doesn’t burn.) Don’t move the slices around while they’re frying — you want to get a little crust on each side. Turn over gently to crisp the other side (maybe 6 minutes in all).
Gently transfer the steaming, crispy slices to a plate and crumble some Italian gorgonzola cheese on top. You will think you died and went to heaven.