Polenta
05 February 2008
Polenta is a fantastic side dish which consists of ground dried sweetcorn, and it comes in different levels of fineness. I particularly like the relatively coarsely ground variety - I find it often has a stronger taste than the fine ones. I am very familiar with polenta thanks to my childhood in Switzerland, where polenta is quite popular through the strong Italian influence. Funny though that polenta is widely unknown in Austria (at least in the area of Vienna), and it has not really penetrated large parts of Germany, either. I keep importing my favourite variety from Switzerland.
How To Do It
| serves 4 as a side dish |
| 2 cups (= approx. 240g) of coarse polenta |
| 2 cups of milk |
| 4 cups of water |
| 1-2 vegetable stock cubes |
| nutmeg, freshly grated |
| 20g butter |
Bring the water and the milk to boil. While the liquid warms up, add the stock cube(s) and make sure they dissolve. Season with nutmeg, which is best when freshly grated. When the water and milk mixture starts boiling, slowly pour in the polenta, while constantly stirring. Let it simmer at moderate heat for about 30 minutes (or whatever it says on the package – different varieties have different cooking times!) and check regularly that it does not get stuck to the pot. Finally season to taste with salt (if necessary), and stir in the butter just before serving.