If you’re not eating polenta because it takes too much time to cook the genuine, creamy article from scratch, I’ve got a tip for you. Old Italians to gluten warriors can all enjoy the delicious corn-y goodness in under half an hour.
First to define polenta, it’s cornmeal. That’s it. Fancy gourmet packets of the stuff at five times the cost are rarely more interesting than ordinary cornmeal two aisles over in the baking section – usually at a significant discount. The very same stuff used for pedestrian cornbread. Certainly you’ll find differences in grind, colour, and perhaps even source corn makeup but the good news is that they’ll all make a great lunch. Much like oatmeal, industrial food witchcraft has created several ‘instant’ options which are merely pre-cooked at the factory so in effect all you need do is rehydrate them but that’s where I draw the line. I’ve never gotten a rich, creamy polenta from instant without a lot of culinary trickery (i.e. plenty of butter and cream) so I avoid them when making my usual bowl to park under mushrooms or stir together with a heap of Parmesan. For naturally rich, spend a little more time at the stove with “regular” offerings of dry polenta.
There is however a great place in your pantry for instant if you’re going to ‘re-cook’ it properly. Here I’m talking about forming polenta cakes to be later fried, as a coating on fish, or perhaps even some deep-fried hush puppies. Along those same lines I’ve already told you about the glories of masa arepas, the precooked fine cornmeal used to make the griddle cakes of Venezuela and Colombia. For these special cases I stock some instant. Just be sure to grab the appropriate bag for your intended dinner plans. In my humidity-filled world, it’s actually a mason jar tightly sealed with one of the matching plastic lids (rather than metal o-rings) and works perfectly to keep out moisture, bugs, and anything else hungry for cornmeal.
Many people mistakenly think that once polenta thickens, it’s done cooking and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It will be thick ‘mush’ in as little as two minutes but to get the texture right, it usually needs a further forty minutes of a low temperature simmer. As important is to get the water ratios correct and for me that starts at five-to-one and oftentimes goes higher. While many classic recipes will call for stock or dairy to be added, I think that mutes the corn flavour more than desirable in most cases so I stick with plain old water. If you want to try such additions, thin them with at least some percentage of water or you’ll cover up the whole delicious taste reason you’re eating polenta.
That water ratio is your key to getting great texture but also where my trick lies to shorten the cook time by as much as half. Despite all the ‘must whisk vigorously while streaming the polenta into boiling water’ advice that’s been parroted repeatedly over the years, you simply don’t have to fuss that much. Pre-soaking in plain cold water jump starts the all important hydration to reduce the cooking time needed. Even thirty minutes soaking will knock down cooking time a fair bit but I’ve tested as much as eight hours with no ill effects. Anywhere in between those extremes that fits your polenta feast schedule will be fine with a maximum benefit probably coming anywhere after two hours and a shortest cooking time of about twenty minutes.* Be sure to use cold water since warm or hot would prematurely start the cooking process most likely leaving you with a pan of glop.
* In cases of particularly large batches, say more than a kilo of dry polenta, your cook times are going to be a bit longer both unsoaked (maybe an hour) and soaked (thirty-ish minutes).
Flavour additions for polenta are as varied as Italian grandmothers but nearly anything you think up can be carried by the delightfully strong corn flavours. Just a finish with butter is fine as is the common addition of Parmesan cheese for a classic interpretation. Gild the lily with two or three additional melting cheeses if you’re feeling indulgent or stir in other interesting fats (duck, chicken, bacon, etc.) rendered down to enrich the bowl. Spinach and garlic. Cranberry and honey. Gorgonzola and pine nuts. Roast chicken and rosemary. Every combination delicious (I’ve tried them all and have millions more to think up) so it becomes obvious that polenta is a real recipe chameleon.
A long-time favourite combination of mine includes mushrooms and sage with a scant few sun-dried tomatoes for subtle acidic lift but two key tips come to light after making my thousandth bowl. First, cook the polenta ‘naked’ for the best flavour using only water and (perhaps) a bit of butter during the cooking. This leaves you the cleanest corn flavour as a base. The sun-dried tomatoes get stirred in after cooking which keeps the flavours from getting muddied together as well as keeping your polenta from turning a decidedly ugly shade of reddish-brown. Secondly the raw mushrooms simply cannot be stirred into the cooked polenta and be expected to taste of anything other than dirty sponges. You have to cook them separately over high heat to drive off the moisture and concentrate flavours, something I’ve talked about more in the past, which also conveniently gives you a place to brighten the pan with some lemon and sage. A bit of liquid (stock, wine, water, et. al.) to deglaze yields just enough sauce to perfectly top your cornmeal creation.
Whether a small bowl for solitary lunch or a grand platter in the middle of a feast table covered liberally with extra flavours, make some polenta this week. It won’t take that long.
Quicker Polenta With Mushrooms, Sage, & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
60 g dry polenta (any colour or grind, not ‘instant’ or ‘quick’)
325 ml cold water
30 g unsalted butter
30 ml olive or vegetable oil
60 g fresh mushrooms (any variety)
1 shallot or 1/4 onion, chopped fine
freshly ground black peppercorn to taste
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 – 3 large fresh sage leaves, cut into fine strips
1 – 2 tablespoons stock (optional, substitute sherry or water)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 oil-packed sun-dried tomato, minced finely, with 1 tablespoon oil included
Yield: One serving but easily multiplied up to eight times as needed.
For the shortest cooking times, soak the polenta in the correct measure of water for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours. Changing the water after soaking is NOT necessary. Cooking times below are for soaked polenta. If cooking unsoaked, double those times.
Start the mushrooms before cooking the polenta to ensure everything is hot at service. Melt 10g of butter along with 15ml vegetable oil over medium high heat. Cut the mushrooms randomly then and to the pan tossing to coat in fat being sure not to crowd the pan. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Allow to saute until the mushrooms are golden brown on the first side and fragrant WITHOUT touching the pan or stirring the mushrooms as they cook. Once fragrant, toss the pan to turn the mushrooms and cook a further one minute. Remove from heat and reserve the whole pan for finishing later.
Start the polenta on medium high heat from cold with its soaking water and 1/4 teaspoon salt whisking regularly until it thickens and the bubbles on top leave trails in the mix, about two minutes. Immediately reduce the heat to low, cover, and whisk occasionally, about every three minutes for the next nine minutes. Remove the cover, add 10g of butter, 15ml oil, and continue to whisk occasionally until the desired texture is reached, about nine minutes longer. Tablespoons of water can be added while the polenta cooks as needed to make a workable consistency but should be kept to a minimum.
Finish the mushrooms in their pan by adding the remaining 10g of butter and returning to medium heat. Add the sage to heat through in the melting butter, about a minute, then deglaze the pan with stock adding the lemon juice at the very end.
Just before serving, gently stir the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil into the polenta. Spoon into warmed serving bowls (Don’t you DARE put this beautiful creation on a cold plate!) and top with the mushrooms. The best garnish is a glass of Chianti.
