Polenta
By Pamela Lee, from the December 1998 Newsletter

I don't have nostalgic memories of an Italian Grandmother stirring steamy pots of polenta, cooking up delectable, savory, rustic dishes out of the hearty corn mush. But I've been reading articles, clipping recipes and mentally preparing to cook this grainy substance that's been a popular topic in food magazines for the last several years: polenta.

I've been a little confused about the difference between cornmeal and polenta. Many books and articles use the two terms interchangeably. I scoured my source books and magazines for clarification, but they didn't help. For instance, here are two citations on polenta from two different books:

"Polenta, Italy's culinary contribution to corn-cooking, is best made with coarse-ground cornmeal either imported from Italy or domestically grown."

"Polenta is the name given to fine golden cornmeal in Italy, where it is made into a soft, savory mass (confusingly also called polenta) which is served with a wide variety of dishes."

Since my sources didn't clarify the confusion or distinction between cornmeal and polenta, I decided to shop, cook, and taste the two for myself. After preparing and tasting both, I've decided: if you are making mush, by all means use the Co-op's organic polenta—it is delicious! Save the organic cornmeal for your muffins, cornbread, or Johnny cakes, but don't make it into mush.

Standard instructions for making polenta go like this:

Bring 3 cups water (or milk or broth) to a boil, add 1-tsp. salt, then slowly add 1 cup dry polenta, stirring constantly until the polenta thickens and stiffens, about 30-45 minutes. Spoon onto plates or an oiled platter and top with a sauce. Or, transfer it to an oiled baking dish and allow it to cool. Slice and then bake, broil, or fry.

Standard instructions may also warn you that the corn can lump together—at any point in the cooking process—unless you keep stirring. One article even likened the activity to arm wrestling! The notion of constantly stirring one pot of hot mush for 30-45 minutes does not intrigue me. That's probably why I read and clipped polenta recipes for several years before ever making it. I have been interested in alternative polenta cooking methods, and now that I've tried the standard approach and two alternative methods, I will use the two alternatives again—with polenta, not cornmeal. With both the standard and the rice-cooker method, I added a few extra tablespoons of hot liquid as the polenta thickened as I "sensed" that additional liquid was needed. One is, after all, rehydrating the corn. If your mush seems too dry as the polenta thickens and pulls away from the pot while you stir, add a bit more liquid, a tablespoon at a time.

The easiest way (that I tried) to cook polenta is in an electric rice cooker. The idea of using a rice cooker came from a "quick tip" that a reader had sent to Fine Cooking Magazine. I've altered the author's quicktip recipe: Mix one cup polenta with one cup cold water and 1 tsp. salt; set aside. Boil 2 1/4cups of water. Turn the rice cooker on, and add the boiling water. Stir in the polenta/salt/cold water mixture. Once the mixture starts to bubble and boil, stir it about every 10 minutes with a long-handled wooden spoon. When the rice cooker switches from cooking mode to warming mode, you can stir in butter, olive oil, milk, rice milk, cheese, fruit, nuts, or whatever condiments you might choose.

The next method, and the following two recipes, come from Cook's Illustrated Magazine, January 1995. The idea is that one can avoid the lumping problem and the constant stirring by cooking polenta in a double boiler. This method takes longer, but it's foolproof. You can't overcook the polenta and it will never seize up. The directions tell you to stir every 10-15 minutes, but I left the pan untended for more than 20 minutes at one point. Since I don't own a double boiler, I set one saucepan inside a larger saucepan. The larger (bottom) pan was filled with several inches of water. One may add cheese, butter, herbs, roasted vegetable, dried fruit, nuts, honey or maple syrup, etc. to the double boiler polenta, creating either sweet or savory dishes.

Double-Boiler Polenta

Serves 4

4 cups boiling water
1 tsp. salt
1 c medium-grind cornmeal*

1. Bring about 2 inches of water to boil in bottom of double boiler; reduce to simmer and maintain throughout cooking process.
2. Into the top pan of the double boiler, set over the simmering water, add 4 cups boiling water. Add salt, then gradually sprinkle in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to avoid lump formation.
3. Cover and cook until polenta is very soft and smooth, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring for several seconds every 10 to 15 minutes. (Once cooked, polenta can be covered and saved up to 4 hours and reheated; stir in a bit of water if necessary.)

* I recommend the Co-op's organic polenta, not 'cornmeal' for making polenta mush.

Polenta with Wild Mushrooms and Rosemary

Serves 4 as a main course

1 recipe Double-Boiler Polenta (see above)
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t. minced fresh rosemary
1 lb. wild mushrooms (cremini, shitakes, or oysters), cleaned and sliced
1/3 c chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare Double-Boiler Polenta. Set aside, but keep it warm.
2. Heat butter and oil in large skillet. Add onion; saute over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and rosemary; saute until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
3. Add wild mushrooms; saute, stirring occasionally, until juices release, about 6 minutes. Add stock,
   and salt and pepper to taste; simmer briskly until sauce thickens, 5 to 10 minutes depending on mushroom variety. Adjust seasonings.
4. Divide polenta among four bowls; top each with a portion of mushrooms and sauce. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately.

The next recipe is from the January, 1996, issue of Fine Cooking Magazine. A whole chopped (organic) orange, peel included, lends a wonderful flavor to this pudding, and any trace of bitterness is cooked away.

Polenta Pudding

Serves 6

1 orange, chopped coarse (including the peel and pith)
1/4 c plus 1 T. brown sugar
1/2 c honey
4 1/2 cups milk
3 T. unsalted butter
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
2/3 c coarse-ground dry polenta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 t. sugar
1/3 c toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Heat the oven to 325°F. In a food processor, combine the chopped orange and 1 T. of the brown sugar. Pulse several times to mince the orange.

In a large saucepan, combine the orange mixture, the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, the honey, and 1 T. water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the milk, 2 T. of the butter, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg until well combined. Let the mixture return to a boil.

Slowly add the polenta, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs until smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch-square baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and dot with the remaining 1 T. butter.

Set the baking dish in a water bath. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with the chopped hazelnuts.

Recipes for Our Feathered Friends
by Patricia Diaz, from the December 1998 Newsletter

Birds use lots of precious energy in winter just to keep warm. In fact, birds may have to consume nearly 20% of their body weight in one day just to survive temperatures near zero. We can help them survive by keeping the bird feeders clean and full, and don't forget to keep water available for them. There are also some high-energy treats we can provide. Following are a couple of great recipes:

Corn Bread

2/3 c. cooking grease or vegetable oil
3 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
3 1/2 c. milk
1 c. chopped nuts

Combine all ingredients well. Spread into 9X13 pan and bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes. Cool. Cut to fit your suet feeder or hang in a mesh bag.

Bird Feed Treat

1 c. cornmeal
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 c. water
1 c. birdseed

Combine the first five ingredients and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes, or melt in a pan on the stove. Remove from heat and stir in the birdseed. Press into a pan to cool, and later cut to fit suet feeders or press into two sandwic-hsize plastic containers and refrigerate. These will fit into suet feeders. Refrigerate until ready to put out for the birds.

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