How to Make Perfect Polenta Recipe

I mix 1 c. of cornmeal with 1 c. cold water stir into 3 c. of boiling water. Much easier than stirring in dry cornmeal.

Also if you leave out the Parmesan cheese and pour the polenta into a loaf pan and refrigerate it the next morning you can fry a slice in butter and top it with warm maple syrup. That’s how our grandma gave it to us for breakfast or for dinner.

My mother and father, and all of my relatives for hundreds of years, are from the Tyrol in the Alps of northern Italy, where polenta is their most important food. In America, we make polenta with Quaker Yellow Corn Meal, in a proportion of one part corn meal to six parts water, with a teaspoon of salt. The polenta needs to cook about 45 minutes for a mellow flavor, traditionally in a solid copper pot, over low heat, until it is so thick that it cannot be stirred, even with a wooden spoon. Then it is inverted onto a wooden board, leaving a crispy crust attached to the pot, and sliced with a strong white thread, drawn from underneath, for each slice. Served with stew, such as chicken cacciatore. I would love to enjoy it every Sunday.

Too bland so I dressed it up a bit. I added 1 med shallot diced, 1 small green pepper diced, 3 garlic cloves minced. Sauté with some olive oil then added 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp oregano, 2 tbls chicken bouillon, 2 packets sazón and 3 bay leaves. Mixed in the cornmeal and water and let it go stirring every 5 to 6 min.

I made this it's a good recipe nice base recipe. Being a professional chef for many years I tend to alter recipes I don't really follow them to the letter. For this recipe I substituted fresh chicken stock instead of water and I also sauteed some onions and olive oil chopped for a few minutes until they were translucent and then a couple of tablespoons of chopped garlic for about 1 minute before I added the stock and brought it to a boil. I used this as a base for my braised lamb shanks that were done in a dutch oven with tomatoes rosemary garlic carrots celery onion beef stock red wine salt pepper bay leaves and parsley

I have made this recipe a dozen times. It is absolutely fantastic! There's nothing wrong with the recipe if you convert from volume to weight, which I have always done. On the side of the Quaker cornmeal canister, it says 3 Tbsp weighs 27g. That equates to 143.1g per cup. I weighed out 143g of cornmeal and put it into a measuring cup and it came up a little short. If one's cornmeal has finely ground particles in it, it will weigh more. This may be causing the "shortage" of water...too much cornmeal if it is measured volumetrically. This is the exact reason bakers use weight instead of volume. Dry ingredients can compress and have different particle sizes, wreaking havoc on volumetric measurement accuracy. FYI the recipe is 947g water, 143g cornmeal, and 60g Parmigiano when converted to mass. I salt to taste and butter is too easily measured. TBH, I double the butter because no one wants a fat-free polenta...or ANYTHING for that matter. I use this polenta as a bed for Osso Bucco. I removed 1 star for the ridiculous intonation he uses in his videos.

Came out nicely. I just used timing and a ratio. Should add fresh rosemary before the 30 min cook time. Set into a plate that can be broiled. Top with fontina. Broil. Drizzle with truffle oil. Polenta Tartufata. Serve aside eggs poached in tomato sauce. Eggs bordello. There are many ways to traditionally serve polenta.

Use plain water in your polenta, it needs no gilding with any flavored liquid. I do add generous portions of butter and parm but chicken stock muddies the flavor. Try for yourself and you'll see.

My first attempt at polenta. The closest I ever came before this was making instant grits. The recipe was perfect including the Chef's Note. My polenta was ready in about 22 minutes. It seems like everyone has their own additions. Mine were pancetta and onions. I started with diced pancetta. Added diced onion when the fat started to render. My polenta was a bit fine so it thickened quicker. I added a bit of milk and got the consistency I was looking for whisking often as instructed. I want to eat the whole thing before my family gets home.

Very good! If there are any leftovers , next day pan fry in butter, baste and top with Par/Reg cheese. Delish! No waste in our house when I was small.

It turned out extremely delicious. However I had to sort of combine 2 recipes because I lost the original recipe that I use to have. I used 3 cups of milk and 3 cups of broth instead of water.

So much easier to mix cold water with the corn meal, then bring to a boil. Stirring into boiling water almost guarantees lumps!!!!

Awesome, it’s in my bi-weekly rotation!

It was great, I now keep it in stock for nice easy dinner!

Needs have whipping cream and chicken stock/broth!

Delicious, very easy !

Great recipe will definitely make this again

I followed the recipe to the letter, it was easy if a bit of work, I can't see how I could improve it.

I add precooked vegetables to my polenta once it’s boiled.

Even my dog seemed curious.