I remember my grandfather standing at the stove, stirring a big pot of the stuff, and every once in a while some of the thick, bubbling polenta would burp out of the pot and on to his hand. He would jump back and yell something, which to my very young ears sounded sort of like, “hey, some fun girl!”
Of course, years later I realized he was actually saying, “vaffanculo.” I’ll let you translate yourself. By the way, one way to avoid the wrath of the molten mush is to adjust your heat to maintain a nice gentle bubble.
Besides severe burns, there’s not a lot that can go wrong
with this recipe. As long as you stir it in slowly, whisking constantly, and
simmer it until it’s perfectly soft, you will have one of the world’s great
comfort foods, and a beautiful base for any number of stews or braises. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Portions:
4 cups water or broth
1 cup polenta (you can use regular corn meal, but it’s not
as easy to work with, and the texture isn’t as interesting)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Note: if your question is, “can you add [blank] to this
recipe,” the answer is yes.
33 comments:
Wow....I know what we're having for dinner tomorrow! All your recipes are incredible, but I can't wait to try these last two! Thanks for being a "people pleaser"! :)
I use fine corn meal - in fact just made a batch tonight. Tasty!
Delicious looking. Will try on Sunday. But now you gotta make the winter veggie mushroom ragu!
Delicious looking. Will try on Sunday. But now you gotta make the winter veggie mushroom ragu!
Delicious looking. Gonna try on Sunday with pork. But now you gotta show us a veggie mushroom Ragu!
In Louisiana, we call what you made 'grits'. For added fun, make some shrimp scampi (shrimp, butter, garlic) and mix it in at the last second.
That is all it takes to move it from a side dish to the main course!
I grew up in Mississippi and I now live in Italy. I can say that grits are NOT polenta even though both are made from ground corn. Grits are most often made from dent corn turned into hominy by treating with lime and then ground. Good grits are soft and creamy. Polenta is ground from flint corn and the texture is grainy after cooking. Both are yummy, but they're not really interchangeable.
Hi, can you please show some video of using up leftover semolina?coz i bought it few months ago and don't know what to do with it.
Thanks.
Is a Polenta and a Grit the same thing? They look very similar.
- Roll Tide!
Long Time Viewer, First Time Poster,
Love your videos, Chef John! Along the lines of what blogagog said above, what is your take on polenta vs. grits? Any difference? which is better?
Chef John, I'm in San Francisco, where do you live WE'RE TOTALLY HANGING OUT
Yes, grits and polenta are not the same! Here is an article. http://www.thekitchn.com/polenta-versus-grits-whats-the-difference-187807
Thank you!!!!!
VEGGIE MUSHROOM RAGU, VEGGIE MUSHROOM RAGU, VEGGIE MUSHROOM RAGU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PLEEEEEZZZZZEEEEEEEEE
Ha!! The worlds first Jason Bourne Comment! Instant Classic!! I second HyDee: Mushroom Ragu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pleeeeeeeeezzzzzeeeeee!!!!!!
It looks delicious. Definitely going to try this. But could you please tell me what is the gorgeous looking meat dish that you add at the end of the video? Thanks.
It's the pork from the video before this one!
Chef John, this is a beautiful thing. I'm a California girl who's lived in France for the last six years and I've zipped over to Italy on occasion and enjoyed a divine polenta and wild mushrooms. This recipe is equally divine! I love you and your website!
When I cook polenta, I have to chill it overnight in a baking pan, divide it up and fry it. If I don't, the universe will implode as if someone had divided by zero.
I never knew you could get away with not constantly stirring though, I have to try that now.
Chef John... I am Italian (born and raised) and I think I know what "fun girl" means ... ;)
Anyway, you're awesome!
The difference between grits and polenta is like the difference between hog jowls and pancetta!
"You are the yenta of your polenta" :)
Please make Mushroom ragu! I need it! :)
Made this a couple nights ago - i followed your recipe to a T and it came out absolutely perfectly! The texture was just right and I didn't have to stir constantly! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
So simple and so addictive. I've no idea (whatsoever) why I've never made this before! (I mean, really, what was I thinking not to make such a delish before...? It's so good to have you to share your knowledge!) Thank you!
Awesome, I love Polenta! When I'm boiling my water I add 2-3 full sprigs of Rosemary. Pull it out after a few minutes of boil then add the polenta, cook as normal, stirring constantly and at the end add goat cheese.
Then i pour it into a lightly Olive Oil'd square pan and chill then Grill. Its amazing with Steak, Lamb ....anything! Even leftovers with Breakfast.
You will need to oil your grill and the Polenta so it won't stick, FYI.
Enjoy Buddy
I made this last night, but it took over an hour to cook. I followed the instructions properly, I think. I may not have let it thicken enough before i put the lid on and stirred every 5-7 min or so. However, when it was finally done cooking, it was incredible. The texture, the flavor. Perfection. I just need to figure out why it took so long so that i'm not dissuading myself from making it again. Any suggestions?
PS- Made this with the Pork al Latte. So good!!
This recipe is AMAZING! I simply love it.Made it numerous times and it always turns out perfect. One question though...
Is there a way to make this an hour before serving it? Can it be reheated? Even if you don't have to stir constantly it does require that you remember to go back to the kitchen to stir it every 5 minutes which can be difficult if you are socializing with the guests.
Thank you for your excellent recipes and great sense of humor.
Hey, Chef John, I'm one of "those people" (vegetarian) and would like to pass along a tip for other vegetarians. Better than Bouillon makes a couple of veg friendly bases--No Chicken Base and No Beef Base--that can be used to make chicken-flavored, or beef-flavored broth. I'm most familiar with the No Chicken Base--it's good enough to make a cup of broth when you want a warm drink and would be great in this polenta recipe.
For the first time ever, I made such a perfect polenta dish. Thank you very much.
If you double the recipe is this a straight double 8 cups water to 2 cups polenta or do you have to subtract water/polenta like you do when you make rice?
I just made Polenta for the first time!.. I made it with baby bella mushrooms pulsed in a Food processer and finely chopped scallions, Sautéed them your method, dry, wet,dry then added water to start the polenta!.. Once thickened I added Parmesan cheese, butter and cream!.. It’s in the ice box now and I’ll fry some up later!! It was so smooth and tasty 😋... btw, I watched your video 47 times before I had the guts to try it lol..
OK, I give. When are you adding 1 teaspoon of salt? You only mention tasting for salt at the end of the cooking process in your video, but olit makes more sense to add a fixed quantity like a teaspoon to the water when it's boiling, then later "taste for salt."
L
PS Added salt early and used chicken broth. Very tasty covered in your "Sunday gravy" and it's meat!
Post a Comment