Polenta. WTF?!

[secretsquirrel]

Right. Bought some of this stuff to make cornbread at the w/end. I wasn't too enamoured with the cornbread (although bf seemed to like it and I don't think he was being polite!) so I decided to make some of it up 'straight' to go with my chilli.

Wtf is the point of this stuff? A lump of yellow, grainy, flavourless stuff*. It's only redeeming feature that it, combined with the chilli, filled me up so much I couldn't eat it all. Not that I really wanted to.

So. Does polenta have any redeeming features? What the hell can I do with the rest of the bag to make it palatable?!

*And, yes, I'm aware 'flavourless' could also apply to things like pasta, rice, quinoa etc but ... really ... this stuff is something else on the scale of bland!

 

[Dubversion]

i'm often told it can be wonderful.


these people are clearly insane.

 

[tarannau]

It's grim. I've even eaten it a couple of times at posh restaurants to see if I had mis-cooked it somehow. I hadn't: It still tastes of wallpaper paste.

 

[May Kasahara]

Wtf is the point of this stuff? A lump of yellow, grainy, flavourless stuff*.

Vile, isn't it? Like some primitive form of matter. Why there is a conspiracy among food writers to promote it as palatable is beyond me.

Use it to grout your bathroom or something, but don't eat any more!

 

[aqua]

grim grim grim

 

[Xanadu]

I like polenta when it's fried or griddled.

edit to add: needs a hefty amount of butter to be added to taste really good though.

 

[moose]

Me too. With a spicy tomato sauce on the side.

 

[Xanadu]

Yum

Lots of parmesan too

 

[Mogden]

I've used polenta with dried toms, herbs and bits in and that wasn't too bad. I think it's like tofu in that there's a particular technique that renders it v palatable but most of the time it's a bit weird.

I used it as breadcrumbs when making wheat free crumbed fish portions which was quite nice and if you sprinkle it round the crust edge of a pizza before cooking I believe it gives it a nice bite.

Other than that, grouting with it sounds good to me.

 

[cesare]

Mmmmmm traditional calves liver & polenta in a Venetian restaurant

Polenta should be fluffy, and light. Creamy if you want to eat it like mash, or firm enough to slice/fry.

How are all of you making it?

Basic polenta recipe:

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 cups finely ground corn meal
9 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Add the oil to the water, bring the water to a boil in a large pan.
2. Add the polenta a bit at a time mixing constantly with a wire whisk. Be careful, as the polenta thickens up it will splash.
3. Once all the polenta is mixed reduce to a low heat.
4. Add a pinch of salt. Mix it in and taste to see if it is salty enough. If not repeat this step.
5. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. If you have a nice stainless steel pan with a thick bottom you can leave it to simmer alone. If you don't have such a pan you are going to have to stir it often with a wooden spoon.
6. If the polenta is too thick you can add a little bit of boiling water to thin it out.

Notes:
Let it cool just a bit before serving. Be careful when you eat it polenta really holds its heat well. Even 15 minutes after you turned it off it's still hot enough to burn your mouth.

Be sure that the polenta you are using is not instant. If it is follow the instructions on the package.

 

[zog]

As others have said, lots of parmasan and butter take just over the edge to edible.

I only use it like that with a very strong flavoured dish, like chicken livers fried with a reduction of creme de cassis. real rich blackberry and liver flavour goes well with the utter blandness that is polenta.

 

[perplexis]

I like polenta. It is really tasty, especially with loads of olive oil and parmesan.
Also, fried, or grilled in little cakes. Mmmm. Delicious.
What's wrong with it? If it's bland it should be inoffensive, surely?
One should probably never attempt to do anything too creative with it, IMO, I don't really like it with lots of sauce because it tends to disperse horribly leaving you witha grainy sauce, which isn't what I want...

 

[Xanadu]

Grilled in little cakes - ooooooh

 

[Santino]

It can be used a bit like lasagne and baked with mozarella and tomatoes. Or fried in fat. I was advised by a Venetian tour guide not to eat it by itself but always with a bit of the meat on the same forkful.

 

[*Miss*Sparkle*]

I make a yummy mexican pie with a polenta topping.

Make up a chilli, pop it in a pyrex dish, make up a thick polenta batter, pour over the top of the chilli, put some grated cheese on top of the polenta batter and bake it in the oven for about 20 min or so.

 

[story]

So what all you Polenta=Aye people are saying is that it's the fat that makes it palatable, eh?

Xanadu's thread about fat

 

[Pieface]

I had it once fried with a load of herbs in it and it was *ok* - but I can't eat much of it. Even my piggy little tummy gets bored.

 

[northernhord]

In some ways polenta reminds me of an Italian version of cous cous, ie - flavourless shite

 

[DrRingDing]

I can safely say polenta pie is the nuts.

 

[moon]

Well we (west indians) call it plain old Corn meal...because thats all it is, its the food of poverty and was only ever eaten when the cupboards were bare because its uttely vile.

I have no idea why restaurants sell it

 

[Xanadu]

So what all you Polenta=Aye people are saying is that it's the fat that makes it palatable, eh?

Xanadu's thread about fat

I've only had polenta made with cheese and butter then fried or griddled. Never tried it in any other way. It's rather tasty when done that way

 

[Xanadu]

Grilled sprats might be considered peasant food. I quite like it. Just cos something is peasant food, doesn't meant it's going to be tasty or disgusting.

 

[Termite Man]

I tend to cook the polenta so it's quite thick then spread it thinly on a baking tray ( greased so it donesn't stick ) and leave it to cool . Once cooled slice it and grill so it goes a "crispy" on the outside . I'll also add things like chilli flakes and herbs/spices when I'm cooking to make up for the lack of taste then serve it with generally a tomato sauce !

IMO it's not the taste thats offensive with polenta it's the texture if you don't get it right !

 

[fractionMan]

It's grits for posh people. Nobody would dare sell grits in a fancy restaurant.

 

[longdog]

Nasty stuff.

 

[Cid]

It's not too bad when used as a base for some recipes - you can make a really nice lemon drizzle cake with it... Gives a bit more texture than flour. As to serving it on its own I have no idea why people bother.

 

[lillia]

Wtf is the point of this stuff? A lump of yellow, grainy, flavourless stuff*.

So. Does polenta have any redeeming features?

The point of polenta is that it is a measure of how bad a food can actually be. Your description is exactly right. It has no redeeming features.

 

[DrRingDing]

Nasty stuff.

Anti-tofu, anti-cous cous, anti-polenta.

*lobs soggy sprout at longdog*

 

[moon]

Grilled sprats might be considered peasant food. I quite like it. Just cos something is peasant food, doesn't meant it's going to be tasty or disgusting.

What has peasant got to do with it?? do you call working class english people peasants???

truely shocking

 

[story]

Peasant isn't a term of abuse.

Is it?

I know it can be used that way, but it doesn't mean anything rude. It just means working country folk, doesn't it?

It's from Paisant (french) from Pays for "country"....isn't it?