Creamy Polenta...

The other day, I posted my recipe for Shrimp & Grits, a southern favorite for those who like grits. I received several questions about grits verses polenta, so I thought I would try and answer them here.

Like all grains, corn kernels can survive a long time as potential seeds or tomorrow's dinner. The huge, dried kernels will crack your teeth, so for use in cooking, dried corn is usually ground first. The kernel also can be soaked in lye ~ wood ashes; traditionally ~ to make hominy, but this process takes several days, so it wasn't always an option. But you can use ground corn immediately for masa, tortillas, cornbread or spoonbread.

Or you can go for its real splendor and make mush, which is what you get when you mix a ground grain with a liquid. It may sound horrible, but it actually can be sublime. Polenta, Indian pudding and grits, for example, are all forms of cornmeal mush. Made well, all are delicious.

Cornmeal can range from a fine flour to a grind as coarse as Kosher salt. Although food connoisseurs love to talk about stone-ground cornmeal — meaning cornmeal ground between stone wheels at a grist mill — I can't really detect any difference in flavor from corn that is ground using more modern equipment. Most grocery stores sell cornmeal and grits. To find other grinds, check at specialty markets.

Italian polenta is the most cosmopolitan form of mush and is best when made with a slightly coarse meal with grains about the size of table salt. This gives it some body and a little bite that corn flour doesn't provide. The Italians prefer yellow cornmeal, but white cornmeal works just as well. Polenta is typically made on the stovetop and can be as simple as cornmeal cooked with some sort of broth or stock, or can include sautéed vegetables and cheese.

Grits are made with an even coarser grind ~ again, think Kosher salt. Southerners tend to prefer white cornmeal for grits, although as with polenta, the color doesn't really matter. Grits may be simply ground corn or they may be hominy grits. In the latter case, the kernels are soaked in lye first making hominy, then dried before grinding. The lye treatment removes the corn bran and also changes the chemistry of the corn making its niacin more digestible.

Although instant grits and instant polenta are available, making them from scratch isn't difficult and the flavor is definitely richer. So don’t take the easy way out, or you'll never fully appreciate the wonders of this American grain.

Polenta is a traditional side dish both in the United States and in northern Italy. It's made by simmering coarsely ground corn meal until the natural starches are released, making it wonderfully creamy and satisfying. So, this morning I thought I would fix a bowl of creamy polenta and give equal time to my friends north of the “grits belt” to shake off the morning chill.



Creamy Polenta

Ingredients:
1 cup polenta
3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
4 tablespoon butter
Salt, to taste

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, bring the cooking liquid to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta and lower heat to a very low simmer.

Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. The polenta should bubble thickly like molten lava during this time. If the polenta starts to clump up, add water ~ about ½ cup at a time to thin it out.

Stir in butter. The final consistency should be thick and creamy but not clumpy. Adjust consistency with additional water if necessary.

Season to taste with salt and serve right away.

Serves 4 to 6

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George’s notes:

• The “grits belt” stretches from Texas to Virginia.
• Since the late 20th century, polenta became 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 simple food, enriching it with meat and mushrooms sauces, and adding vegetables, beans or various cheeses into the basic mixture.
• Polenta is similar to boiled maize dishes of Mexico, where both maize and hominy originate.
• Grits have their origins in indigenous Native American preparations of corn. Traditionally the corn for grits was ground by a stonemill. The results are passed through screens, with the finer part being grit meal, and the coarser being grits. Many communities in the U.S. used a gristmill up until the mid-20th century, with families bringing their own corn to be ground, and the miller retaining a portion of the corn for his fee. In South Carolina, state law requires grits and corn meal to be enriched, similar to the requirements for flour, unless the grits is ground from corn where the miller keeps part of the product for his fee.