
For some reason people think Polenta is an intimidating dish. The truth is, it’s probably one of the most simple dishes to make. It’s like making rice, but with one more step.
All Polenta is, is coarsely ground cornmeal. The stuff you’d use to make cornbread, or dust the bottom of your pizza with before baking. Done properly this dish can be made start to finish in less than 40 minutes, with a ton of downtime.
While Polenta can be served as a main dish, I like to pair it as a side dish with some sort of meat, such as my Osso Buco and Polenta, or my Balsamic Grilled Octopus with Polenta. It makes the perfect carb base to accompany many rich sauces that come from a piece of meat, plus it looks beautifully well plated. Next time, instead of serving Mashed Potatoes, try Polenta.
Polenta Ingredients:
- 1 cup Cornmeal
- 2 cups Chicken Stock/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup Parmegiano Reggiano; grated
- Salt; to taste
- 2 tbsp Butter
Polenta Instructions:
1. In a pot on the stove, add the liquid and salt (I don’t use salt as my chicken stock is quite salty, but if you just use water then add a pinch of salt to the water.) and wait for it to boil. Once boiling take a whisk and stir the liquid somewhat fast. Slowly put in the cornmeal while stirring constantly. This will keep the polenta from getting clumply and allow you to have smooth, rich, creamy polenta when you are done. Reduce heat to medium and stir for about 5 minutes until the cornmeal looks like it’s equal to the water.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. You don’t need to keep stirring all the time, you can let it rest and just mix it up every 5 minutes or so. After about a half hour your polenta should be basically done. Mix in the butter and when the butter is melted in there, mix in the cheese. Take off the heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before plating and serving. I plate with a little square of butter and a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Notes:
The rule with Polenta is 4:1. 4 cups of liquid to 1 cup of cornmeal. I like to do 2 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken stock per one cup of cornmeal, but of course you can do all chicken stock, or all water, or whatever ratio you choose as long as the liquid stays at 4:1.

Perfect Polenta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cornmeal
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 tbsp Butter
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pot on the stove, add the liquid and salt (I don’t use salt as my chicken stock is quite salty, but if you just use water then add a pinch of salt to the water.) and wait for it to boil. Once boiling take a whisk and stir the liquid somewhat fast. Slowly put in the cornmeal while stirring constantly. This will keep the polenta from getting clumply and allow you to have smooth, rich, creamy polenta when you are done. Reduce heat to medium and stir for about 5 minutes until the cornmeal looks like it’s equal to the water.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. You don’t need to keep stirring all the time, you can let it rest and just mix it up every 5 minutes or so. After about a half hour your polenta should be basically done. Mix in the butter and when the butter is melted in there, mix in the cheese. Take off the heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before plating and serving. I plate with a little square of butter and a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano.