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A staple of Italian cooking Blessed polenta filling but nourishing
[Dolores Maria Jimenez]
This maize meal puree - that comes in an endless assortment of local varieties - is part of the staple diet of many farming communities in Italy and included in the Tuscan cuisine. However, we should remember that here corn was unknown until comparatively recently, recent by European standards, I mean. Corn was in fact brought back from America in one of the early expeditions after its discovery by Columbus, although some claim it may have been known in Venice even earlier, thanks to its trading concerns with the East.
However before you actually serve this dish to your friends, we advise you to practise a little first!
You need to mix some corn meal (known here as farina gialla, yellow meal) in boiling hot salted water, stirring briskly with a whisk to prevent lumps. Next, put it on the burner to cook, stirring all the time with a strong, long-handled, wooden spoon. The pot should be fairly deep and have handles that can be easily gripped, because the thicker the mixture gets, the more effort you have to put into the stirring and the longer you boil it, the better it is. Once the polenta has cooked - in other words, when the spoon can stand up in it - pour it onto a wooden board or platter. It should be allowed to cool and settle, before adding the sauce and serving.
Polenta is particularly popular in Northern Italy and is used as a substitute for bread and to accompany meats, cheese or sauces. In Tuscany it is often fried in small square slices that can be eaten as they are or topped with sauce, often made with mushrooms (in restaurants, look on the menu for crostini di polenta ai funghi in the antipasti or starters section).
You might like to try another tasty local variation, the polenta alla mugellana (Mugello polenta from the mountain area just North of Florence). It is a very rich main meal as varying quantities of beans, chickpeas, winter cabbage, pancetta and olive oil are added to the normal polenta mixture.
Good stirring!
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