Monday, January 5, 2009

Creamy Polenta


OK, I finally get Polenta. I get it.

I have eaten polenta a few times. Totally uninspiring. I've made many a recipe calling for a side of polenta (usually a recipe that has a sauce, interestingly enough) and usually ignored it.

I've bought a few of those tubes of polenta you see in the produce section of the supermarket. They last forever, I've cut off a few slices, fried them, tried putting cheese on them, totally bland and I just never got the point. A few times they just sat in my refrigerator for months until they expired and I just tossed them.

I was browsing last night and happened to come across a recipe for Polenta at Simply Recipes, and somehow it caught my eye. I was already planning to make Cider Honey Mustard Pork Chops (to be blogged soon, I'm making it tonight) and I thought maybe, maybe, the polenta would go with it.

So instead of buying a tube, I bought two pounds of bulk polenta at the store ($0.89) and one bar of cream cheese ($0.99) and decided to make the polenta last night even though my meal was this evening. (Two bucks? Are you kidding me, that's all?)

OMG, this was absolutely delicious. Creamy, beautiful texture, gentle hint of tangy cream cheese in every bite. And I realized then, that this is a beautiful side dish for almost any meal, especially one that has a sauce or gravy, as the polenta would marry wonderfully with any excess sauces as you eat. For instance, let's say you made a roast with a gravy of some type, or a pork tenderloin with a lime cream sauce (hint) the polenta would be perfect to scoop up some extra sauce. That being said, it's perfect, all by itself. (But do NOT buy the tubes, make it yourself)

Having said that, I'm sure I will now go on a Polenta "hunt" to see what I can add to it. Balsamic and mushrooms perhaps? Stay tuned, I'll let you know.

It was so good, I looked up the history of polenta: History of Polenta

Ingredients and Method:

4 cups water
Salt to taste
1 cup medium-grain yellow polenta
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup cream cheese

1 Heat water lightly seasoned with salt to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Quickly whisk in the polenta until fully incorporated.

2 Lower the heat to a low simmer, add the butter and allow the polenta to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

3 Finish by stirring in the cream cheese and salt to taste.

If preparing in advance, cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave, about 5 minutes on high, just before serving. Stir vigorously after reheating to fluff.

I ate two bowls of it right then, fresh from the pot. And I'll tell ya a secret, the following morning....of course it hardens overnight in the refrigerator, so I scooped some out into a bowl, microwaved it, and dripped some pure maple syrup over it and had it for breakfast! Delicious.

As I said, I now GET polenta. Feature side dish in my house from now on. Please do try it.

Enjoy!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the creamy type as well ;)

Anonymous said...

Never made Polenta but man does that look so creamy and good!

Anonymous said...

Glad you finally get it lol. Comfort food at its best!

Ron Merlin said...

I love Pat's comment, "Glad I finally get it" ha ha, so am I...

Chef Tess said...

Outstanding!! I shall be returning to your blog often!

Chef Tess said...

Hey, I made it for dinner with a Southwestern twist and added it to my list of favorites! Thanks for some much needed magic!

Anonymous said...

What a great recipe. Easy to follow and it sounds delicious.

Fr Greg in Kathmandu said...

I follow a similar recipe, using unpressed homemade cream cheese, then add a tablespoon of pecorino or parmesano before serving. Finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes give a nice kick too.

Jess said...

Oh my goodness. Thank you!!!! I hate the tube stuff and have shied away from it ever since. I decided that I would give it a whirl and have nooo regrets! Can't wait to have this for breakfast. I was thinking of adding herbs (lemon thyme and maybe rosemary) for the next times. I'm so excited to investigate the possibilities. Oh and I served this up with your pork and lime cream sauce.

Ron Merlin said...

I'm so glad you liked it. And it's funny you mention have it for breakfast. Because that's what I did the very next morning!!! In fact, (shhh) I poured a little maple syrup over it too.....Excellent.

By the way, the Pork w/lime cream sauce is one of my personal favorite recipes.

Come back often. I'll keep cooking if you keep eating.....

RM

Bob said...

Easy, isn't it? And so delicious. I'm making it right now to accompany my ancho-coffee short ribs. I'll stir cheddar cheese into it for this dish.

Ron Merlin said...

Yeah Bob it is easy. Last weekend I bought a Pressure Cooker and made polenta with rosemary and goat cheese in EIGHT minutes.... It was so so good.


Thanks for the visit and comment. Come back often, I'll keep cookin'...

TMM

hotChickityDog said...

I love your recipe ... I normally make creamy maple polenta with milk, but I made your recipe last night, and replaced the water with chicken broth, also used 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and served lemon scented meatballs and pomodora over polenta ... delicious !

Anonymous said...

So does anyone know how to make this for 100? How many does this recipe serve? 4 maybe? so I hve to make 25 batches?? but it is just what i need for my fundraiser dinner in October.

Ron Merlin said...

To answer your question, this serving size would be for 6 people easily, with a good size portion each. So for 100 folks, times 16 or 17 would work.