morsels45

morsels45 said

Polenta

Stirred until it gives in. Soft, plain, endlessly forgiving.

Polenta
Photo: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. A photo of the dish, not of these exact recipes.

That was somebody else’s answer. Yours takes about twenty seconds: a handful of either-ors, then one dish.

Play morsels45How it works

Free, no sign-up, and an answer in about twenty seconds.

How to make polenta

2 genuinely different takes — a classic, and a faster or lighter route. The same ones the app hands you once you have decided.

Stirred, the long way

45 minutes · serves 4 · Easy

What you need

  • 200g coarse polenta
  • 1.2L water or stock
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

What you do

  1. 1Bring the salted water to a bare simmer and rain the polenta in with a whisk going. It lumps if you tip it.
  2. 2Switch to a wooden spoon and stir every few minutes for 40. It will spit — use a long spoon and a deep pan.
  3. 3It is done when it pulls away from the side of the pan and no longer tastes of raw grain.
  4. 4Oil in at the end, beaten hard. Salt again; polenta takes more than you think.

Grilled the next day

20 minutes · serves 4 · Very easy

What you need

  • Leftover polenta
  • Olive oil

What you do

  1. 1Pour the hot polenta into an oiled tin about 2cm deep and leave it to set, at least 2 hours.
  2. 2Cut into slabs.
  3. 3Griddle in oil, 5 minutes a side, until crisp and marked.