Yesterday I posted the amazing slow braised short rib recipe that was shared by Ree Drummond, the self-declared Pioneer Woman. Her recipe sounded similar to another that I had made in the past - except for the addition of the goat cheese. I love goat cheese so I was looking forward to trying this with the short ribs.
Polenta is a very versatile staple to incorporate into your meals. Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal (ground maize) originally made with Chestnut meal in ancient times. It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. When boiled, polenta has a smooth, creamy texture due to the gelatinization of starch in the grain, though it may not be completely homogeneous if a coarse grind or a particularly hard grain such as flint corn is used (or if you don't pour the cornmeal sloooooowly into the boiling liquid).
Polenta was originally and still is a peasant food. However, since the late 20th century, polenta has also become a premium product. Polenta dishes are on the menu in many high-end restaurants, and prepared polenta can be found in supermarkets at high prices. Many current polenta recipes have given new life to an essentially bland and common food, invigorating it with various cheeses or tomato sauces.
I confess that I have never seen the benefit of purchasing the tubes of prepared polenta as it is so easy to make your own. Perhaps this trend is because of polenta's inherent hazard . . . it spatters like an erupting volcano as it bubbles away. You only need to be splattered once with boiling hot polenta to take care in the future.
Once you've recovered you've learned your lesson for good and it is easy stirring from then on.
Creamy Polenta
1 cup finely ground Yellow Cornmeal
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
4 ounces, weight Goat CheeseBring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil.
Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and extra tablespoons of water as needed. NOTE - fine or instant cornmeal is ready far more quickly - generally in about 5 minutes in my experience.
When polenta is done, stir in butter and goat cheese. Check seasonings (we added 1 tsp of fresh basil, chopped), and add salt to taste.
Serve with your favorite meat main course.
Note: leftover polenta quickly becomes a solid as it cools. Be sure to pour it out of the pot into some sort of a container before it cools. We generally place it in a 9x4 inch baking pan. Once it is cool we can slice hunks of polenta out for leftovers (more on this later . . .). It seems to last for a long time in the fridge.
