CIA Recipes

Basic Polenta – Print This Recipe

Yield: 10 servings

• 5 qt/4.80 L water
• Salt, as needed
• 1 qt/960 mL coarse yellow cornmeal
• 2 oz/57 g butter
• Ground black pepper, as needed

1. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed medium stockpot and season with salt.
2. Pour the cornmeal into the water in a stream, stirring constantly until it has all been added. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring often, until the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot, about 45 minutes. It should not taste starchy or gritty.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and blend in the butter. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve immediately as soft polenta or hold warm until service.

Note: For firm polenta, decrease the amount of water to 1 gal/3.84 L. After blending the butter into the polenta, spread the mixture onto a greased or plastic wrap-lined half sheet pan and refrigerate until cool enough to cut into desired shapes. Finish by sautéing, pan frying, grilling, or baking.

Polenta with Parmesan: Substitute Chicken Stock (page 263) for the water. Sweat 1/2 oz/14 g minced shallot and 1 tbsp/9 g minced garlic in 1 oz/28 g butter until aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and cook the polenta according to the above method. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 3 egg yolks and 2 oz/57 g grated Parmesan.

Recipe taken from: The Professional Chef, 9th Edition