Polenta: the north italian must

The last years polenta is becoming more and more popular. It is cornmeal which is quite coarse and you can just boil it with water. There are recipes also with milk but the one here, we did it using water.

The ratio is 1 part polenta and 4 parts water. Then you need to add a bit of oil according to the italian recipe but we added on top butter.

Ingredients

• I cup polenta
• 4 cups water
• 1,5 teaspoons salt (but this depends on you)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Preparation

• Add the water in a pot and when it starts boiling, add the salt and then the polenta.
• Add the olive oil. This is for the polenta not to stick.
• It needs between 40 and 50 minutes of costant mixing (otherwise it will burn) in a medium to high fire
• When it was almost ready, we added the butter for extra flavor.

How to serve

• You can serve it warm with melted cheese on top. In the north of Italy you will normally find it with Fontina.
• You can put it in a baking form while still warm. Wait until it cools down and cut it in pieces.
• After cutting it in pieces you could grill it before serving.

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We served it with a simple tomato sauce with extra onions and grilled chicken.