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From America's Test Kitchen
A creamy mound of hot polenta can be a comforting dish, especially when served with a stew or saucy braise. Composed of little more than cornmeal and water, it should be easy to prepare. But often it’s lumpy or gummy, and getting it right requires constant stirring. We wanted the smooth, creamy texture and great corn flavor of real polenta, but without the hassle.
It turns out that the type of cornmeal makes a difference in the end result, and we found that a medium-grind meal worked best. The traditional method of making polenta requires half an hour or more of constant stirring after the cornmeal is added to boiling salted water. Experimentation revealed that the way to avoid this continuous attention is very low heat. We added the cornmeal (very gradually, so it wouldn’t seize up) to barely simmering water with the flame set as low as possible. With the cover on the pot to keep in moisture, the cornmeal had time to release its starches gradually and develop flavor, and we needed to stir it only every five minutes or so. Our polenta was smooth and creamy with lots of corn flavor, and we were able to serve it in half an hour without standing at the stove the whole time.
Serves 4 to 6 as a first course or light entree
If you do not have a heavy-bottomed saucepan, you may want to use a flame tamer to manage the heat. A flame tamer can be purchased at most kitchen supply stores, or one can be fashioned from a ring of foil. It's easy to tell whether you need a flame tamer or not. If the polental bubbles or sputters at all after the first 10 minutes, the heat is too high, and you need one. When stirring the polenta, make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan to ensure even cooking. Choose a Gorgonzola dolce or other mild, creamy blue cheese such as Saga Blue.
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