Polenta – what it is: recipes for corn grits

The content of the article

• What is polenta
• Polenta Recipes
• Classic recipe
• With cheese
• In milk
• With mushrooms
• In a slow cooker
• With pumpkin
• With spinach
• With shrimps
• Polenta is sweet
• How and what is better to serve

Italian corn porridge, which has gained worldwide fame, is called polenta. Having gained recognition in northern Italy, the dish has become popular in Slovenia, Serbia, Moldova, etc. The polenta is universal: it is served with cheese, meat, berries, fruits. Depending on the recipe, the dish can be served for breakfast as well as for a family dinner with a main course or instead of a dessert.

What is polenta

A dish of Italian cuisine polenta is porridge made from crushed corn, which is in demand not only in the native country. It is common in the northern regions of Italy: in Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italian cantons in Switzerland. In other countries, polenta has a different name: for Slovenia, it is “ганganis”, for Dalmatia – “pulenta”, for Serbia – “kachamak”, for Moldova – “mamalyga”.

Polenta Recipes

Initially, croup was added to a deep large copper pot without refueling, and served as food for the poor population of Italy. Later, improved recipes appeared with the addition of mushrooms (champignons, shiitake), cheese, meat (chicken fillet), vegetables (there is a recipe with tomatoes and celery) and seafood (shrimp). The versatility of polenta is that it can be served hot or cold, cooked salty, sweet, creamy, hard or soft.

Classic recipe

• Time: 50 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 6 Persons.
• Calories: 105.9 kcal.
• Purpose: for breakfast, afternoon tea, for children.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

Classical Italian corn grilled polenta is a thick porridge that is served without additional flavoring ingredients: without cheese, meat, seafood, etc. You can prepare the dish for breakfast, afternoon snack or to please home without a reason. The advantages of corn grits include versatility: you can serve it seasoned with salt or sugar, cold or hot, it all depends on your taste preferences.

Ingredients:

• water – 1 liter;
• coarse corn grits – 250 grams;
• salt – 1 teaspoon;
• butter – 50 grams.

Cooking method:

1. For cooking, you will need a pot with thick walls made of copper or cast iron, or a cauldron. If such a device is not in use, an ordinary pan with a thick bottom is suitable, in which water is poured.
2. Boiling water should be salted, pour corn grits, stirring with a wooden spoon.
3. Reduce heat to a minimum, cook for 25-30 minutes, constantly stirring the mixture. The polenta will begin to separate from the walls and bottom of the pan.
4. When the mixture turns into a homogeneous mass, put it on a cutting board, use a spatula to shape a square, cool.
5. Frozen polenta can be divided into pieces and served with melted butter on top.

With cheese

• Time: 1 hour 10 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
• Calories: 368.7 kcal.
• Purpose: side dish for lunch, dinner.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

Corn polenta with cheese is suitable for lunch and dinner as a main course or side dish. Serve the dish hot or cold. Instead of water, use vegetable or meat broth to saturate the taste. Cooking does not take much time. The housewives wait longer when the mixture hardens. You don’t have to spend time on it, but immediately immediately divide the porridge. The taste of this will not change, and the aesthetic presentation – yes.

Ingredients:

• water – 0.5 liters;
• corn grits – 200 grams;
• three types of cheese: creamy (processed), blue, hard – 200, 100, 100 grams;
• greens (dill, parsley) – to taste;
• salt to taste;
• butter – 50 grams;
• thyme – 0.5 teaspoon.

Cooking method:

1. Boil water or broth in a pan with thick walls and bottom, add salt, cornmeal. Stir until thickened. If desired, grated cheese can be added five minutes before removing the cereal from the fire.
2. Put the mixture in a baking dish, greased with butter, smooth on the surface. Wait for complete cooling, then cut the polenta into pieces.
3. While the porridge cools, mash the blue cheese with a fork, add the greens, thyme and cream cheese. Stir the mixture until smooth..
4. Place baking paper on a baking sheet, place a polenta on it, grease it with a mixture of cheeses. Cover each piece of cheese with another piece (second layer).
5. Grate hard cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes in an oven at a temperature of 190 degrees until a crust appears.

In milk

• Time: 30 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 7 Persons.
• Calories: 152 kcal.
• Destination: for breakfast.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: medium.

Polenta made from cornmeal in milk is soft, creamy and tender. Porridge will delight you with a pleasant taste for breakfast, especially if served with toppings or jam. The set of ingredients is similar to the classic polenta with the addition of milk. How to serve corn porridge in an original way: cut out figures (circles, stars, hearts, etc.) from the hardened mixture and pour them with milk.

Ingredients:

• water – 0.75 liters;
• milk to taste;
• corn grits – 330 grams;
• salt to taste;
• sugar to taste;
• butter – to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Pour water into the pan, bring it to a boil and salt. Reduce the heat to a minimum, carefully add the corn grits.
2. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring constantly. When the cereal is soft, add milk and continue cooking. Determine the density of the future dish yourself: if you like thick coarse cereals, then expect complete thickening, if not, remove a little earlier.
3. When the cereal is ready, put sugar and a slice of butter in it, cover for 5 minutes.
4. Roll out the finished cereal on a flat surface, cut the figures out of it with a knife or special molds. Next, wait until the jewelry has cooled and hardened and pour milk over it..

With mushrooms

• Time: 50 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
• Calories: 545 kcal.
• Purpose: dinner, family dinner.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: medium.

Polenta with mushrooms can please home for dinner or lunch for the whole family. To do this, it is better to use portioned molds or clay pots. For a bright taste, before serving, the dish can be seasoned with chopped parsley, and put on the table various sauces (garlic, tomato). Before you put the mushrooms on top, in the summer you can grill a tortilla, and in winter – in a pan.

Ingredients:

• water – 0.75 liters;
• corn grits – 330 grams;
• dried mushrooms – 15 grams;
• Shiitake mushrooms – 225 grams;
• champignons – 225 grams;
• olive oil – 1 tablespoon;
• vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon;
• butter – 30 grams;
• onion head – 1 pc.;
• marjoram – to taste;
• fresh finely chopped oregano – 1 teaspoon.

Cooking method:

1. Pour boiled water over the dried mushrooms and let them infuse for 30 minutes. Thinly cut shiitake mushrooms and champignons, removing the legs in advance and washing them.
2. Put the pan over medium heat, fry the onions in olive oil.
3. Take away the bow. Add the remaining butter and vegetable oil to the remaining olive oil in a pan. Fry in a mixture of mushrooms (except dry), ground pepper and oregano for 10 minutes. All this time the products need to stir.
4. Drain and filter the liquid from dried mushrooms, leave 175 ml. Rinse and chop mushrooms.
5. Add the onions again to the pan, put the dried mushrooms to it, pour in the liquid from under them. Remove from heat after one minute after boiling..
6. Cook porridge: add cornmeal to boiling salt water. Stir and cook until thick. Put the groats in a mold, let cool.
7. Cut the porridge into pieces, on each put a stew of mushrooms and marjoram. Decorate oregano.

In a slow cooker

• Time: 70 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 2 Persons.
• Calories: 105.9 kcal.
• Destination: breakfast, for lunch.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

In a slow cooker, classic polenta porridge is easier and easier to cook than on fire. Corn cake can be prepared for breakfast, served instead of bread for dinner, as Italians do, or after cooking add vegetables (for example, peeled tomatoes, carrots or paprika) and enjoy as an independent dish. To cook polenta in a multicooker, two modes are used: cooking and baking.

Ingredients:

• water – 0.75 liters;
• corn grits – 330 grams;
• butter – 30 grams;
• Parmesan cheese – 30 grams;
• salt to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the corn grits in cold water, then dry it.
2. Put the porridge in the bowl of the multicooker, fill it with water. Add salt to taste and a small piece of butter to the cereal. Close the cooker lid and cook in the appropriate mode for 50 minutes until cooked.
3. After the cooking process is complete, sprinkle the surface of the dense porridge with grated Parmesan. Close the lid and bake porridge in the desired mode for 10 minutes.
4. Serve the dish with fresh vegetables.

With pumpkin

• Time: 40 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
• Calories: 133 kcal.
• Purpose: breakfast, afternoon tea.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

Polenta with pumpkin can please children for breakfast or serve as a dessert for an afternoon snack. In the winter, porridge will help to fill the body with vitamins and nutrients. Bright orange color lifts the mood, “warms” and mentally brings closer the onset of spring. The cereal is soft, tender, sweetish in taste, which will appeal to both children and adult sweet tooth.

Ingredients:

• water – 0.6 liters;
• corn grits – 200 grams;
• butter – 40 grams;
• pumpkin – 100 grams;
• sage – 5 grams;
• Parmesan – 100 grams;
• salt to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the corn grits, pour in water, salt.
2. While stirring, bring the porridge to a boil over medium heat.
3. Keep the heat to a minimum, cook porridge, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
4. Add pumpkin puree with sage, cook for 15 minutes, until the porridge starts to move away from the walls.
5. Remove porridge from heat, add parmesan and butter.
6. Serve Hot.

With spinach

• Time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 6 Persons.
• Calories: 361 kcal.
• Purpose: lunch, dinner.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

There are two types of recipe for polenta with spinach: vegetarian and non-vegetarian. For the second option in the list of ingredients you will find bacon, but you can do without it. It can be served hot or cold for lunch or dinner. Prepare polenta in forms in advance, and when it comes time to serve lunch or dinner to the table, just warm the porridge in the oven.

Ingredients:

• water – 1 liter;
• corn grits – 330 grams;
• eggs – 4 pcs.;
• butter – 10 grams;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• spinach – 1 bunch;
• cheese – 100 grams;
• milk – 50 grams;
• bacon – 2 pieces;
• vegetable oil – 2 tablespoons;
• smoked brisket – 200 grams;
• salt to taste;
• pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Cut onion and brisket into small cubes. Sauté the ingredients in vegetable oil for 5 minutes until the onions are soft.
2. Add chopped spinach to the pan, stir for 30 seconds, so that the spinach is slightly “weakened”. Remove the ingredients from the heat.
3. Cook polenta.
4. While the porridge is boiling, mix the eggs and milk. Beat the ingredients.
5. Add grated cheese, bacon, onions and spinach to the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Lubricate the baking dish with butter, put the porridge, pour it with the mixture. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese 10 minutes before cooking, let it brew in the oven.
7. Cut the slightly cooled polenta into pieces. You can serve the dish to the table.

With shrimps

• Time: 80 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
• Calories: 330 kcal.
• Purpose: lunch, dinner.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: difficult.

Shrimp polenta is truly a royal dish. It can be served not only for family lunch or dinner. Porridge with shrimp will be at the table for the holiday, for example, as an independent hot dish for a birthday, anniversary or Christmas. It will take a little time and cooking skills to make porridge. But the guests will be satisfied with the unusual taste, they will ask for supplements.

Ingredients:

• cornmeal – 250 grams;
• cheddar cheese – 50 grams;
• butter – 40 grams;
• grated parmesan – 30 grams;
• vegetable oil – 2 tablespoons;
• bacon – 4 pieces;
• medium peeled shrimp – 30 pieces;
• champignons – 6 pieces;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• lemons – 1 piece;
• chicken stock – 100 ml;
• Tabasco sauce – 1 teaspoon;
• green onions – 4 stalks;
• salt to taste;
• black pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Bring four glasses of water to a light boil. Add the cornmeal, stirring the water, cook for half an hour.
2. Stir in grated cheddar, parmesan, 20 grams of butter. Salt, pepper, cover.
3. Preheat the pan, add the bacon in small cubes, fry for 10 minutes. Put on a plate with a slotted spoon. Leave the melted fat in a pan.
4. Salt the shrimp, pepper, put in a pan. Fry for 2 minutes, turn over once during this time. Put on the dish.
5. Thin the chopped mushrooms into the pan. Stew, stirring, for five minutes, add chopped garlic, cook another minute. Pour in the broth, let the liquids boil for a third.
6. Put the shrimp back, add a tablespoon of lemon juice, oil, Tabasco sauce. Cook another minute.
7. Arrange the food in plates, lay the shrimp on top. Sprinkle each serving with bacon and chopped onions..

Polenta is sweet

• Time: 30 minutes.
• Servings Per Container: 2 Persons.
• Calorie content: 170 kcal.
• Purpose: breakfast, afternoon tea.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty: Easy.

You can diversify the taste of Italian polenta not only with cheese, spinach, shrimp or bacon. If you are a lover of sweets, you can make a dish with berries and fruits, season porridge with sugar instead of salt or peanut butter instead of Tabasco sauce. Useful properties of polenta allow you to replace it with the famous morning oatmeal. Sweet taste will appeal to both children and adults.

Ingredients:

• cornmeal – 100 grams;
• water – 0.5 ml;
• apple – 1 pc.;
• peanut butter – 1 tbsp. l .;
• raisins – a handful to taste;
• berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) – a handful to taste;
• cinnamon to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Pour the cornmeal into the pan, pour water, stirring slowly, bring to a boil.
2. Add chopped apple, raisins. Keep cooking for 7-8 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low, put peanut butter, mix porridge.
4. Put in a bowl, garnish with berries and cinnamon.

How and what is better to serve

Polenta can be served with a main course or side dish, in baked or fried form it is a substitute for bread. Porridge is combined with complex culinary delights (beef in Burgundy, fish dishes, for example, from cod), sauces. Italians prepare garlic sauce in butter with herbs (parsley, dill). The Italians serve the dish like this: they warm the pieces of porridge, decorate it with feta cubes and slices of pickled cucumbers.