Polenta Notes

Marty suggests a couple of polenta cooking sessions, so here come some gobbets of thought about the matter. Much organization and condensation is called for.

Equipment

• 2-quart cooking pot
• whisk
• rubbery spatula
• ladle for serving
• splatter screen (optional)
• a buttered bread pan or bowl for keeping leftover polenta, if there is any
• plates or bowls for serving [1]

Ingredients

• 1 cup polenta [2]
• 3–3/4 cup clear broth or water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ground white pepper (optional)
• 4 oz unsalted butter (optional)
• shredded parmesan (optional)

Method

• The Mise

Before you start actually cooking, gather together all the hardware and ingredients you will need. Put the ingredients into small individual bowls for easy handling.

Pour the liquid into the pan. Crank up the burner and heat the liquid until it’s beginning to boil.

Add the salt. No need to stir at this point.

• The Combining

Take the bowl of polenta in one hand and the whisk in the other.

Slowly — very slowly — pour a small amount of the corn into the now-boiling liquid, whisking all the while.

Once that portion has been fully incorporated and you understand how the process works, repeat until all the corn has been incorporated into the liquid.

Congratulations. Your your polenta is under way, and in about 20 minutes it will be done.

• The Cooking

You will have to reduce the heat several times as the polenta thickens.

Keep the polenta moving, using the whisk. About half way through the polenta will become too thick for whisking; this is the time to switch to the spatula.

Use the spatula to loosen any polenta that has decided to stick to the bottom of the pot. Methodically scrape around as you stir until you feel no stuck corn.

Now it’s just a matter of stirring and tossing in a knob of butter now and then. [3]

When you are near the end of the cooking, the polenta will have taken on the characteristics of lava, complete with a splattering of very hot corn flying out of the pot. This is where the splatter screen comes in handy.

You will know when the polenta is done because it will look ready for plating, and that is what you will do next.

• The Plating

Use the ladle to transfer polenta to the bowl or plate. Try to do it with one transfer so the serving of polenta isn’t in the form of several disorderly blobs.

• The Leftovers

Use the spatula to scrape any remaining polenta into the bread pan or bowl. Wait until the remaining polenta has cooled to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate until the next morning, when it will be sliced and fried to become a welcome part of a polenta and egg breakfast.