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Polenta Fantastico Recipe

Ingredients

How to make it

  • To prepare polenta: Have handy an 8-quart stainless-steel bowl (the top of your improvised double boiler) and a whisk. Bring the 8 cups water to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a 6-quart pot half full with water. Bring that to a lively simmer. (This is the bottom of your double boiler.) Place the cornmeal in the bowl. Whisk the boiling water into it gradually until any cornmeal lumps disappear. Cover and seal the bowl with foil and set it over the simmering water. Cook 11/2 hours. (Tip, you may wish to add half of the required water (cold) into the polenta.. then stir it into the remaining water after it starts to boil.. no lumps this way .).
  • During the first 20 minutes, stir polenta several times. Then stir only every 20 or 30 minutes, tasting for salt and adding it as necessary. Replenish the simmering water as necessary. After 90 minutes, taste polenta for bitterness (a sign of raw cornmeal) and tenderness, cooking another 30 minutes if necessary.
  • The finished polenta should be soft, taste of gentle corn with no hint of bitterness. Cool and refrigerate up to 3 days. To reheat, place it back in the bowl, cover with foil and set over simmering water. Stir to smooth out the polenta if needed. If it is very stiff, stir in more water. Taste for salt. Heat 30 to 40 minutes. Once hot, stir in the green onions and cheese if using them.

Reviews & Comments 6

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    " It was excellent "
    lanacountry ate it and said...
    Very nice recipe! 55555 !
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  • uhannigan 16 years ago
    Great post. To anyone who has trouble with polenta, you can buy an instant version. I could never get it right until I found the instant, though it is probably just cornmeal ground more finely. I'm not talking about the pre-made polenta (I've never found one of those I liked).
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    " It was excellent "
    invisiblechef ate it and said...
    Great comfort food!
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  • jemison 16 years ago
    Thanks...that does sound great.
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  • jemison 16 years ago
    Saving this to try. I have used a fine grained cornmeal by boiling the water, adding salt, and then the cornmeal and cooked until it thickened, then added butter. It was called Mush and was served as a breakfast item like Cream of Wheat. I am going to try with the finer meal and will let you know the results.
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  • robertg 16 years ago
    Good post. When I make polenta, I put ,part of the water in the cornmeal,enough to wet all the meal,then stir it into the boiling water.I never have any lumps.Just a tip I learnt....Bob
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