Polentina

Polentina

The Piedmontese of northern Italy turn polenta into a creamy pudding by simmering it with milk, eggs, sugar, and lemon peel.  Like rice pudding,  Polentina is a homespun dessert.  Prepare this when you don’t mind standing and stirring at the stove with your guests in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup sweet wine or water

4 cups milk

1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs, lightly beaten

6 Tbs sugar

2 strips lemon pel

1/2 cup plus 2 Tb polenta

Heavy cream, optional

Directions:

Plump raisins in  wine or water overnight.  Whisk together milk, salt, eggs,sugar, and lemon peel in a heavy saucepan. 

Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thicken. 

Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking often, until polenta loses it’s gritty texture and becomes creamy, about 15 minutes. 

Dtir in raisins and the soaking liquid.

Remove lemon peel.  Serve in warm bowls or goblets, with a pitcher of cold, heavy cream.

 

Makes 6 generous servings, about 4 1/2 cups total.

Recipe from:

Grain Gastronomy , a Cook’s  Guide to Great Grains from Couscous to Polenta

by Janet Fletcher 1988.

Polenta Fest at Dorothea’s House, Princeton,N.J.

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Polenta, a classic Italian dish made with boiled cornmeal was the highlight of this gathering last weekend. Among the foodstuffs added were spicy sausage, cheeses,mushrooms, tomato sauce, chopped cooked broccoli, and one daring cook placed cooked liver atop her polenta.

 

                              POLENTA WITH SAUSAGE  (Polenta con Salsiccia)

1 pound Italian sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 up cold water

Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:

1.  Cut sausage casing, remove sausage, and crumble into small pieces with a fork.

2.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add sausage and mushrooms to skillet.  Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and sausage are lightly browned.

3.. Slowly stir in the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper,  Simmer 20-30 minutes.

4.  While the tomato  and sausage mixture is simmering, bring 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to boiling.  Gradually stir in the cornmeal and 1 cup cold water.  Continue boiling, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened.

5.  Cover,  lower heat,  and cook slowly 10 minutes or longer,  if necessary.   Transfer the cooked cornmeal to warm platter, and top with the tomato mixture.

6.  Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.                    6 to 8 servings

 

This recipe for the region of Italy: Friuli-Venezia Guilia

Ffruili in the name of this region recalls the Roman Forum., and the Guilia, the emperor  Julius.  After WW II, Italy lost a portion of this region, but picked up Trieste from Yugoslavia.   Trieste is famous for it’s soup.  A hearty chowder concocted of beans, potatoes, and sauerkraut, boiled with pork and laced with garlic, is called Iola Triesstina.

From Italian Cookbook Culinary Arts Institute  Copyright 1977