Omnivore Challenge: Adventures in Polenta

Polenta Cakes 

with Cannellini Bean Tomato Sauce

Polenta is really just corn meal mush and, I reasoned, how hard can it be to make mush? Much harder than I thought, as it turns out. There are many rules for making proper polenta to which some aficionados strictly adhere. These include things like constantly stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon and boiling the water/milk before slowly stirring in the corn meal. That seemed like a lot of work for mush, so I found this recipe for a shortcut that involved mixing corn meal and water and leaving it in the oven for 50 min. This is what I wound up with:

Um, no. (Though in fairness to the recipe, I belatedly realized that I didn't add enough water--it might have worked if I had).

About half-way through cooking the above disaster, I realized I needed a backup plan lest we wind up eating emergency omelets for dinner. So I relented, got out the sauce pan and wound up with serviceable, if incorrectly made polenta cakes.

Recipe after the jump:

Polenta Cakes

1 c. corn meal

1 c. water (*most recipes call for a ratio of 3 c. of water to 1 c. corn meal. You should probably do that)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbl. butter

olive oil

Okay, so "real" polenta calls for boiling the water first, adding the cornmeal in a slow stream and then cooking on low heat for 20 min. or so while constantly stirring until the polenta reaches the desired consistency.

I managed to do only half of those things. I dumped the corn meal, salt, and water in a sauce pan together and cooked on med-low heat, wisking nearly constantly for about 20 min. 

I stopped when a spoon could stand up straight in the polenta.

I then stirred in about 1 tbl. of butter and poured the very thick mixture onto a baking sheet covered with lightly oiled parchment and used a spatula to press it into a thin rectangle:

At this point, the polenta is supposed to rest at least 2 hours, and up to 12. I stuck it in the fridge for 20 min. instead. I then used a glass rimmed with olive oil to cut the polenta into circle-shaped cakes and fried said cakes in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes on each side.

I served the cakes with Cannellini Bean Tomato Sauce and topped with Parmesan.

Cannellini Bean Tomato Sauce

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 can organic chopped tomatoes 

basil

oregano

salt & pepper

Simmer tomatoes and beans in a sauce pan, adding basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. There are many ways to make this fancier. I did none of those things. Easy, still tasty.

The polenta was nice with the sauce, and the cakes were crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside. I'll probably try making polenta a little less haphazardly next time, but this was good. LCBF was hoping for thicker, creamier cakes, which probably would have been better. He also likes grits though, and I, despite living in the South for many years, do not. I'll have to do more polenta experimentation in the future.