eat make read

Polenta been tempting me for a while now. I’ll order it in a restaurant and say, “wow, i’ve really got to make this at home”. Then I’ll come home and attempt to make it and disaster will follow. There’s something about that beautiful yellow powder that just does not agree with me. But finally, after several attempts I was finally successful in my quest to make polenta. Not only did it not fall apart and look like a sad lump, but it was pretty dang tasty too.

I made my polenta with milk, which helped give it a richer flavor. Once it mixes with the liquid it quickly aborbs the it and begins to bubble and thicken. At this point I stirred in some fresh thyme and ground pepper, because polenta needs a bit of jazz. Then comes a key step. Pour the polenta into a springform pan (or you could use a sqaure baking dish). It’s important to spread the polenta evenly and let it harden for a bit.

After about a half hour cut it into pieces so you have 8 little wedges. This is the part where my polenta usually turns on me. But I was thinking happy thoughts and set my polenta into a pan of oil and let it cook for about five minutes. Then came time to flip and I was a little nervous. I flipped one and it didn’t fall apart… woohoo! The next one was a little thinner and was not so lucky. I ended up with a few ugly pieces but most of them were lovely little wedges.

I brought my crisp little wedges to the table, shredded a little parmesan cheese over top and stopped to admire my little kitchen triumph. Then came the true test, the taste test. Yup, they were good. The thyme really shines in each little bite. We ended up topping ours with an egg and it was just right, but I also think tomato sauce would be quite tasty too.

fried polenta with thyme

2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 cup polenta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1
Bring milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add salt.
2
Whisking constantly, add polenta in a slow steady stream. Continue to whisk until all of the lumps have disappeared. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer for 5 minutes.
3
Stir in butter, thyme and pepper.
4
Pour polenta into an springform pan (or if you don’t have one, a 8-by-8-inch baking dish). Let cool until firm, about 30 minutes.
5
Pull the edges off the springform pan and cut polenta into 8 wedges.
6In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
7
Add polenta wedges and cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side.