Polenta

corn meal	1 c
water	2 c
butter	1 T
salt	1/2 t

Blue corn meal makes an interesting, non-traditional polenta with a very creamy flavor. Fine ground yellow corn can be used but white is preferable.

Add the butter and salt to one cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the corn meal to one cup of cold water and stir until the corn meal is uniformly wetted. Gradually add the wetted cornmeal to the boiling water, lower the heat and simmer with stirring until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot. Pour the mixture into a buttered bowl and allow it to cool. Invert the bowl over a plate to free the formed polenta.

Traditionally the polenta is sliced with a heavy thread. It is served warm with butter, with sauce from another dish, for example cod in tomato sauce, or even cut and toasted. The Italian polenta comes directly from the Latin word for barley groats, and before the arrival of corn in Italy during the eighteenth century a similar dish was made from barley meal.

Now, for a little physical chemistry — corn meal wets in hot water with extreme difficulty. In order to prevent clumping traditionally the corn meal was sprinkled a few grains at a time into the boiling water over a long period. By the time the final grains were being added, the first grains had been slightly over-cooked and taken on a creamy consistency. By wetting the corn meal first in cold water and adding it all at once to the boiling water, labor is saved for the cook but the creamy texture may be lost. That partial over-cooking effect can be achieved by beginning with a little more water, adding several tablespoons of the wetted corn meal and boiling for about 10 minutes before adding the remaining corn meal.

Recipe from An Eclectic Cookbook (Copyright © 1987, John S. Garavelli), page 5–2.