How to make delicious porridge? Features of preparation, TOP-6 best polenta recipes. Video recipes.
Polenta is an Italian porridge cooked in water with the addition of corn flour. Typically, it is thick and cut into pieces like a pie. Its analogue in some countries is hominy.
Features of cooking polenta
The recipe for the classic polenta came to us from the peoples of Northern Italy. The dish became popular at the end of the 16th century, when the American culture - corn - became available to Europeans. Initially, this food was considered peasant, but soon the chefs of the best restaurants began to present it as a treat to the visitors of the institution.
Traditional porridge was cooked in a copper kettle in water, to which corn flour was poured. If the spoon is standing, then the polenta is ready. It was then cooled in a round tray and cut into portions.
Italians typically eat polenta in the morning for breakfast, dipping pieces of porridge in a cappuccino. Polenta can also serve as an independent dish. Various products are added to it, for example, mushrooms, cheese, pumpkin, meat, served with vegetable, creamy and even fruit sauces.
The benefit of polenta is that this hearty dish contains vitamins C, A and E. Porridge normalizes digestion, improves the work of the cardiovascular system. Due to its iron content, this dish helps to prevent anemia.
However, there are also more negative factors. For example, polenta is harmful in its high calorie content, which means that overweight people should not lean on an analogue of hominy in the evening. Indeed, there are over 300 kcal per 100 grams of porridge. In addition, eating is contraindicated for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastritis or stomach ulcers.
To make polenta tasty, you need to choose quality cornmeal. For a thicker consistency, it is better to purchase a coarsely ground product. For cooking porridge, only dishes with a thick bottom are suitable, for example, a cauldron, a copper or cast-iron pan, a duckling.
The calculation of the ingredients is as follows: for 1 liter of water there is 1 cup of flour. Cooking time for Italian polenta is 40-50 minutes. Thickness can be adjusted by adding or reducing the amount of ingredients.
After the polenta is cooked, put the mass on a dish or tray, give it the required shape and cool. You can serve treats in portions with the addition of your favorite sauces, vegetables and spices. Corn slices can also be fried in oil or baked in the oven.
The polenta cutting technology also has some nuances. It should be cut with a sharp knife or culinary thread.
TOP-6 recipes for making polenta
Gluten-free meals are known to be very healthy. Polenta also belongs to this category. Therefore, people who monitor their health must definitely include it in the weekly menu.
Classic polenta
Italian porridge is considered a side dish, but in many cafes and restaurants it is offered to guests as an independent dish, for example, for breakfast. You will definitely like this recipe, because it is great for a morning treat.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 330 kcal.
- Servings - 1
- Cooking time - 1 hour
Ingredients:
- Corn flour - 1 tbsp.
- Water - 2 tbsp.
- Salt to taste
Step by step preparation of classic polenta:
- Pour the above amount of water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Wait until the liquid boils, add salt and cornmeal.
- Stir the porridge continuously.
- As soon as the mass thickens, put the pan in a water bath and cook for 20-30 minutes.
- Put the prepared hot mass in a mold or in a dish, and then form a pie with your hands.
- When the corn porridge has cooled, cut it into portions.
- Dip your food into sweet coffee, like real Italians.
Polenta with milk
Porridge is a guarantee of cheerfulness for the whole day. And corn polenta in milk with the addition of jam or condensed milk will become a hit in the morning table among children and adults.
Ingredients:
- Water - 500 ml
- Corn flour - 350 g
- Milk - 500 ml
- Butter - 50 g
- Salt to taste
- Sugar to taste
Step-by-step preparation of polenta in milk:
- Boil water, add salt and sugar if desired.
- Pour corn grits into boiling water.
- Cook the porridge, stirring occasionally, over medium heat.
- When it becomes soft, pour the required amount of milk into a saucepan and cook for 30-40 minutes.
- Put a piece of butter in the finished dish, stir for the last time.
- Cool polenta, cut into pieces and arrange on plates.
- You can pour the treats with condensed milk, jam, preserves, or hot milk.
Polenta with cheese
No Italian dish is complete without cheese, especially hard Parmesan. This polenta recipe is no exception. Thanks to the cheese, it acquires an incredible aroma and salty taste.
Ingredients:
- Water - 2 tbsp.
- Corn grits - 1 tbsp.
- Cheese -1, 5 tbsp.
- Milk - 1, 5 tbsp.
- Salt and herbs to taste
Step by step preparation of polenta with cheese:
- Boil water over high heat and salt.
- Pour corn into the liquid and boil until half cooked, stirring with a wooden spatula.
- Pour milk into a saucepan and stir the brew again.
- When the polenta thickens, turn off the heat, add cheese and butter to the porridge.
- Transfer to a large serving dish and shape into a pie.
- When the food is completely cool, cut it into portions, sprinkle with cheese and herbs on top.
Polenta in the oven
You have already learned how to cook polenta on the stove, but there is another method of cooking it - "al forno", which means "baked in the oven" from Italian. It is in this form that the inhabitants of the sunny country prefer to eat it. If you do not like the painstaking work at the stove with continuous stirring of porridge, this method will suit you.
Ingredients:
- Water - 2 l
- Corn grits - 2 tbsp
- Salt, pepper - to taste
- Butter - 80 g
Cooking polenta step by step in the oven:
- Add salt and oil to boiling water, stir until completely dissolved.
- Pour cornmeal into boiling water, stir with a wooden spatula, wait for large bubbles, and then remove from heat.
- In an oven preheated to 180 degrees, place the container with porridge on the very bottom, close it with a lid or foil on top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until set. If you want to achieve a golden brown crust, remove the lid 5-7 minutes before cooking.
- Serve with a lump of butter.
Polenta with mushrooms
If you already know how to make polenta, we suggest you improve your culinary skills and complicate the recipe by adding additional ingredients such as mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- Corn grits - 350 g
- Water - 0.5 l
- Mushrooms - 500 g
- Onions - 2 pcs.
- Cream - 200 ml
- Butter - 50 g
- Cheese - 1 tbsp.
Step by step preparation of polenta with mushrooms:
- Boil water, add salt and grits, wait for a boil and reduce heat.
- Constantly stirring the porridge, cook until tender.
- Peel and cut the onion into slices that are convenient for you. Fry in a pan with the addition of oil until golden brown.
- Wash and chop the mushrooms, fry them in butter.
- Add the onion to the mushrooms, mix, keep on fire for a few minutes, and then pour in the cream.
- When the cream comes to a boil, you can turn off the gas.
- Put polenta in a greased pan and smooth with a spatula.
- Put the vegetables in cream on top of the porridge. You can put cheese grated on a coarse grater on top.
- Put polenta in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. When a golden crust appears, take out the dish, cut into portions and serve hot.
Polenta with pumpkin
Spicy pumpkin will add autumn colors, sweetness and aroma to Italian food. In this recipe for polenta porridge, an orange vegetable acts as a topping.
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin - 400 g
- Corn flour - 120 g
- Water - 300 ml
- Milk - 120 ml
- Salt to taste
- Butter - 3 tablespoons
- Cheese - 50 g
- Red onion - 2 pcs.
- Garlic - 2 wedges
- Greens - a few sprigs of cilantro, dill, parsley
Step by step preparation of polenta with pumpkin:
- Wash the pumpkin, cut it, remove the seeds. Pour 200 grams of vegetable with water and boil until tender.
- Use a hand blender to puree the pumpkin.
- Pour corn grits into boiling water and cook until tender. Combine porridge with vegetable puree, mix thoroughly, salt.
- Add cheese to the hot polenta, stir again and leave to cool.
- Cut the red onion into half rings and pickle in a little vinegar.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the remaining pumpkin, chopped garlic and your favorite spices to it.
- Put polenta in a plate, add fried pumpkin and pickled onions, sprinkle with herbs on top.
Polenta video recipes
In the rainy and cold season, you really want to pamper yourself with a hot and delicious dish. How about sweet polenta with fruits and berries? Or maybe you are a mushroom or cheese lover? In any case, no matter what type of porridge you choose, this Italian dish will definitely not leave you indifferent.
