Polenta

Polenta is just cornmeal cooked in some liquid. It could be water. It could be milk. It could be vegetable or chicken stock.

The basic proportions are something like 1 cup of cornmeal to 4 cups of liquid. But it varies tremendously by what texture you want your polenta to have and the grind of your cornmeal.

Make polenta is just like cooking grits. More liquid, a creamier and softer texture. Start with maybe 3 cups of liquid to cup of cornmeal, and after the cooking is underway, you can add more liquid if it’s needed.

Many traditional recipes for polenta suggest getting the liquid boiling and then stirring in the cornmeal a few grains at a time to help prevent lumps. Not having the patience or interest to stand at the stove for 30 minutes slowly adding cornmeal, I found my polenta was fine if I put my cornmeal in the saucepan and added enough liquid to make a smooth paste. I stirred until everything seemed evenly moist, then added the rest of the liquid.

Let it cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cornmeal is cooked through – which takes maybe 20 minutes? Season to taste – salt, pepper, chiles, butter, cream cheese, garlic – polenta will stand up to the same sort of things you’d use to flavor your grits.

It won’t be long before we start getting fall greens in our box, and polenta with sautéed kale is just another variation of the Southern tradition of cornbread and smothered cabbage. That, with some pan-fried apple slices or maybe some sautéed sweet potato, says “autumn is here” to me.