Creamy Polenta

Polenta is a popular Northern Italian dish, but originally derived from the Roman times where it was very common for them to eat grains and cornmeal. This is what you would call a classic peasant dish, meaning it was eaten during poverty when people would use whatever ingredients they had in their homes to make certain dishes. It's creamy, hearty, filling and the perfect cold weather recipe.







Recipe



Ingredients

1 cup stone-ground polenta
4 to 4 1/2 cups water, divided
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt



Instructions

1. In a blender, pulse the dry polenta to make the granules less coarse. This gives the polenta a creamy consistency. Remove from the blender and run it through your hands to make sure there aren't any lumps.

2. In a medium pot, bring 3 cups of water to a high simmer. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Add 1 more cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. If the polenta is very thick, whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of water. It should be creamy.


3. Turn off the heat and whisk in the olive oil and sea salt. Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve hot.

This dish goes great with a spoonful of Marinara sauce on top. See my recipe.

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