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Soft polenta

Name: Soft polenta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 325 ml water; 325 ml milk; 100 g polenta (coarse maize meal); 1 pinch salt (a large pinch), plus more to season; 25 g butter; 30 g Parmesan, grated; 1 pinch white pepper

Polenta morbida

Coarse maize meal whisked into simmering water and milk and cooked slowly for at least 30 minutes, then finished with butter and Parmesan. O Tama Carey's recipe for SBS Food serves four to six.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 5 min
Cooking: 35 min
Total: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Wide-based heavy pot
Whisk; wooden spoon

Servings4

Ingredients

Shopping list

Method

Put the water and milk in a wide-based pot over medium heat. Stay close with the whisk and the polenta at hand: milk boils over quickly.
Why A wide pot gives the polenta room to move and makes it less likely to stick.
As the liquid comes to the boil, rain in the polenta with one hand while whisking with the other.
Why Adding it slowly to moving liquid prevents lumps.
Once it boils, turn the heat to the lowest setting, add a large pinch of salt and whisk at regular intervals. Cook at least 30 minutes, until it no longer feels grainy on the tongue.
Timer · 30 min30:00
Stir in the butter and Parmesan, season well with salt and white pepper, cover and keep warm until serving.

Substitutions

Milk → All water, for the older, plainer polenta; finish with olive oil for a dairy-free version.

Common mistakes

Tipping the polenta in all at once: it forms lumps.
Stopping at 15 minutes: it looks thick but still tastes raw and gritty.

Storage & reheating

Leftover polenta sets firm as it cools; slice it and grill or fry it the next day. Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Allergens

Milk

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

vegetarian · gluten-free

Peasant food of the north

O Tama Carey's headnote for SBS Food describes polenta as a peasant food of northern Italy, cooked over an open fire in a copper pot called a paiolo, whose curved base helped stop it scorching during the long cooking. It was often spread on a large board and eaten from it together with spoons.

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Low and slow

The polenta is rained into water and milk as they come to the boil, whisking all the time, then cooked on the lowest heat for at least 30 minutes with regular whisking. The test is the tongue: it is done when it no longer feels grainy. Butter and Parmesan go in at the end.

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How it connects

Place

origin Northern Italy In preparation

Story

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