Creamy Polenta

A great side dish - changing it up from the normal rice/quinoa/pasta

I’ve attempted polenta before and…let’s just say that – 3 years later – I still hadn’t tried again. This time, it came out delicious!

I had invited some friends over for Friday night dinner and for a week straight I was debating between chicken gyros and chicken satay when, Thursday night, I dreamt of making pulled meat in a sweet and savory mushroom sauce, over polenta.

Why polenta? I don’t know. It just seemed to be what stuck in my mind. So I found myself looking up recipes for Polenta online.

I first turned to my Tasty app (where I get so many inspirations!) and searched “polenta” but came up empty. So I searched and researched online – the differences between cornmeal and polenta and how to make sure it comes out great.

And so, Friday morning, I headed to the supermarket in search for my necessary ingredients.

Instead of polenta, I found cornmeal (which I read online is a totally fine alternative – which even cooks in less time!)

Upon making my polenta, I used Emma Christensen’s Creamy Stovetop Polenta recipe, with a few little tweaks of my own. I also doubled my portions to feed six people (and it fed exactly six people, if you consider that one or two people will want a second serving of your delicious cooking!

Heads up, this recipe should be served immediately (or within about 10 minutes of making it) because this stuff hardens quickly! Once it hardens, you can grill it, bake it, deep fry it, or mixi it with some warm milk and eat it as porridge! But if you want it as a creamy base – serve immediately…

Ingredients: 

8 cups water 2 teaspoons salt 2 cups cornmeal 1 cup milk 1-3 tablespoons butter

Equipment:

1 large pot with lid 1 whisk

Instructions: 

1. Bring the water to a boil in the large pot. Add the salt.

2. Slowly pour the cornmeal into the boiling water while whisking the water.  As you pour it in, you’ll feel it thickening. Continue whisking so as to avoid lumps.

3. Turn down the heat to low and continue whisking until the polenta has thickened

4. Cover the pot and put on a timer for 9 minutes. After 9 minutes, uncover the pot and stir vigorously, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom so as to avoid burning. Do this for 3 increments of 9 minutes (for the duration of what turns out to be about 30 minutes (40 minutes if you want a thicker consistency. I like the softer consistency, personally).

5. Next, pour in the cup of milk and stir vigorously. Once it is mixed in, add in the butter and stir until fully incorporated and melted. Turn off the heat.

6. Serve! (Remember that it hardens quickly so don’t let it sit on the stove for more than 10 min)

Ideas for Serving:

You could serve this versatile side dish with many things! A pesto-encrusted Salmon, pulled beef, sauteed mushrooms, etc. Serving it with cheese on top and/or mixed in is recommended. I served it with parmesan cheese and a basil sour cream sauce. It was delicious!

If you have any questions, or any requests – please write to me in the comments or email me a shout out