Italian polenta recipe: the original guide

Food in Italy is equivalent to an experiential journey. Each dish has its own history and preparation techniques. Polenta is a famous cornerstone of the Italian culinary tradition, a simple and delicious dish made with corn flour and salt water cooked over a slow heat to transform into a soft sun-coloured cream, but when it cools it becomes solid and can be cut with a knife or with cotton thread as they used to do, ideal if you choose to experiment with fried polenta.

Here is the classic version of Italian polenta recipe cooked at home to obtain a soft consistency without lumps. In this article we will give you instructions for preparing polenta with the classic method. There are also instant flours on the market today, but first we suggest you experiment and choose the Italian polenta recipe with the classic method. The traditional pot for cooking polenta was and remains the cast iron or copper paiolo (cauldron), today there are also steel versions and with automatic mixers, but for now a steel pot with a thick bottom will be more than sufficient for your preparation.

Ingredients for 4 people

Corn flour 500 grams

Water 2 litres

Coarse salt 1 tbsp

Extra virgin olive oil 15 grams

Here's the Italian polenta recipe: Pour 2 liters of water into the pan and wait for the water to come close to boiling, add the salt and then pour in the corn flour, stirring continuously with a wooden ladle. When you proceed with this operation, keep high temperature fire. Add the oil, you will need it to avoid creating lumps, wait for your mixture to boil again then reduce to the minimum, continue cooking for another 50 minutes. Your polenta is ready, now the choice of seasoning is yours.

If instead of a soft polenta with seasoning you want to know the Italian solid polenta recipe, spread it on a baking tray, level the surface, placing a sheet of baking paper on top and let it cool for at least two hours in the refrigerator. This procedure is ideal for fried polenta. After two hours, slice the polenta into sticks or squares which you will fry in plenty of seed oil and immerse it for at least 8 minutes until you see it golden, then add salt and chopped rosemary, eat it very hot, even in this case you can lean towards for an accompaniment. If, however, you want to try polenta au gratin in the oven, as soon as the polenta is ready with the classic recipe procedure, pour it into a well-oiled pan, pour over a meat sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan and put it in the oven at 200° for 20 minutes, add a final layer of parmesan and put it back in the oven with the grill mode.

How to prepare a perfect match for the Italian polenta recipe. Meat, fish, vegetables? Once placed on a wooden cutting board or on a serving plate you can now indulge in its seasoning.

Let's start with the meat, an ideal sauce to pair with polenta if you are a meat lover is the sauce with pork ribs and sausages, a delicious sauce that once combined with polenta will become a unique and substantial dish, you won't need to eat anything else. For this sauce, chop the onions and carrots and brown them; then, add the ribs and the sausages, when they are golden, add the tomato puree, add salt, and leave to cook over a low heat for at least two hours.

If you love fish, an excellent pairing is polenta with cod stewed in sauce or even plain, or polenta with Venetian-style creamed cod, a typical recipe from the beautiful city of Venice, you will often find it on the menus of the city lagoon.

If you prefer vegetables or are a vegetarian, an excellent pairing porcini mushrooms, the recipe is also very quick, just put a large pan on the heat with a few tablespoons of oil and a clove of garlic, once heated add the chopped mushrooms cut into pieces and leave to cook for about 20 minutes, once cooked add the parsley and your seasoning is ready to put on the polenta, there are many alternatives. If you prefer to use the Italian fried polenta recipe, a perfect match will be grilled vegetables, this recipe is also good for a cool summer evening, in this mode it is also enjoyed as finger food as an aperitif.

Finally, we suggest you experiment with a recipe that will allow you to have a single preparation and bring to the table a dish that does not require additions: Polenta Concia.

Typical dish of Aosta Valley cuisine but there is also a Piedmont version, this recipe combines fontina cheese with corn flour, creating a nutritious and delicious combination that will be worth enjoying in winter, perhaps when it snows outside and can warm you up in an instant.

Use the same procedure as the classic Italian polenta recipe, when the polenta is cooked, add 150 grams of diced fontina cheese and some butter to the pan, mix again to melt these new ingredients and the Polenta Concia will be ready. Here are the various ways to realize the Italian polenta recipe, simple but delicious recipes to enjoy at home in simple steps.