Ticinese Polenta
As fall approaches, so does our craving for a delicious, hearty serving of comfort food. Polenta is the perfect choice. This popular Ticinese dish is synonymous with Swiss Italian cuisine and culture. Polenta can be served soft and creamy or cut into squares and fried.
Polenta is ground corn, or cornmeal (not to be confused with cornflour/cornstarch). It is a simple dish to make, but a lot of stirring is required. If standing at a stove for about an hour mixing is not your forte, you can always pick up a box of instant polenta at your nearest supermarket.
Polenta is a versatile food that can be a side dish or mixed with Gorgonzola cheese and milk as a flavoursome and substantial main course. It also combines perfectly with a warm helping of spezzatino, which is an Italian version of beef stew. Or it can be served with Luganighe sausage, also from the Ticino region, which contains pork, spices and red wine.
Merlot is the main wine produced in Ticino and a is wonderful accompaniment to polenta, however you choose to serve it.
Buon Appetito!
Ingredients:
- 1 litre water
- 1½ tsp. salt
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 250 g. coarse cornmeal (Bramata polenta flour)
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste (optional)
Method:
1. Bring the salted water to boil in a pan.
2. Stir in the cornmeal and cook over the lowest heat for approximately 40 minutes. Stir frequently, to form a thick paste.
3. Remove from heat and mix in butter before serving. If using the Parmesan, fold that in. Now it is ready to serve as a “soft” polenta.
4. If you prefer to make polenta squares, spread the polenta out onto a board to a thickness of about 1 cm. When it has cooled, cut into squares. Fry on both sides in some clarified butter until golden brown.
This recipe is adapted from The Swiss Cookbook, Betty Bossi Verlag, 2009.
The Huffington Post has a good explanation of the types of polenta.
By Zuleika Tipismana and Andrea Snashall
Zuleika was born in New York and now resides in Lugano. She works for TASIS, The American School in Switzerland, as an Alumni and Development Officer. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, music, reading, making cards, and enjoying a good mojito with friends.
Andrea has been living in Switzerland for 12 years and likes the cheesy polenta her husband makes, served with ratatouille-style vegetables.
So how much milk and Gorgonzola cheese should I use please? This (Rubbish) recipe mentions these ingredients, but then doesn’t state how much! I suppose this will happen when you steal recipes from Betty Bossy © Coop Supermarket !!
Hi Jimm, Use 250ml milk and 250 ml water. If you use the long-cooking polenta, it will absorb a lot of fluid so you might use more than the 500ml mentioned in the recipe. Assuming you’re using the quick cooking one, start off cooking the polenta with the water,stirring well, and add the milk as the polenta dries out. When it’s nearly ready to serve, add 150gr Gorgonzola mixing it in on low heat until it melts. If you like a stronger flavour, add more. Likewise with the milk, if youwant a moister polenta, gradually add more milk until it is the consistency you wish for. I hope that’s not too rubbishy for you! Let us know how it goes.
Hi Jimm, Use 250ml milk and 250 ml water. If you use the long-cooking polenta, it will absorb a lot of fluid so you might use more than the 500ml mentioned in the recipe. Assuming you’re using the quick cooking one, start off cooking the polenta with the water,stirring well, and add the milk as the polenta dries out. When it’s nearly ready to serve, add 150gr Gorgonzola mixing it in on low heat until it melts. If you like a stronger flavour, add more. Likewise with the milk, if youwant a moister polenta, gradually add more milk until it is the consistency you wish for. I hope that’s not too rubbishy for you! Let us know how it goes.