Time got away with me this evening. It was about 8:00 o’clock and I deep into writing something when I hear a plaintive voice coming from the sofa:
“Mommy, can you make dinner?”
Boiing. I leaped up, ashamed to be doing my own thing while the family starved. Then I noticed that I was pretty hungry myself. Time to get the tomato sauce out, pull the cornmeal out of the freezer, and simmer up some polenta.
Just Your Basic Polenta
serves 3-4
3 cups water
1 cup yellow corn meal – can be instant
1 tsp. salt, or more to taste
1/4 cup butter
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese – I didn’t have Parmesan on hand, so used the local Emek cheese
Put the salt in the water.
Boil the water and pour the corn meal in slowly, stirring all the while to avoid lumps.
If your polenta is fine or the instant kind, it will cook up in less than five minutes. Coarse-ground cornmeal can take up to half an hour. In either case, the boiling mixture will splatter, so be careful.
Once all the cornmeal is absorbed, add the butter. Continue stirring till you obtain a thick, smooth mush. Add the grated cheese and cook, stirring, till all is melted together.
Serve with your favorite pasta dressing: tomato sauce is classic. We had this with a smear of pesto on the side, and some sliced button mushrooms which had been gently sauteed in a dribble of olive oil, with crushed garlic.
Assembled ingredients
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I’m hungry! So good!
Yummm.
I have cornmeal that I did not know how to use… I think I will try this!
Thanks.
(found your blog via Mother in Israel)
Isis, you won’t have a problem buying cornmeal for polenta in Brazil! I enjoyed going through your blog and surfed the links to other Brazilian blogs as well. Me diverti pacas.
Rivka, I hope you make the polenta too. Delicious, filling, inexpensive and quick to make – sounds right for you.
Mimi
When I was a pipsqueek, with 5 sibling-squeeks, our mother regularly made Polenta for us; except in Romanian, we call it MAMALIGA. It is a staple. Mamma served it up with sour cream or with feta cheese folded therein. This, in place of potatoes, with cabbage rolls (Sarmale), with roast chicken, roasted cobassa. Excellent with any kind of fish. Any left over was put into the ice box; (we did not have a fridge when I was a pipsqueek); fried the next morning with cobassa and scrambled eggs.
Found your blog via Miriyummy. I love food blogs.
Ileana, thank you for the memories. Very sweet! And I love food blogs too. Miryummy’s is great!