It came packaged like sausage. Not link sausage, the other kind. The kind that gets sliced into patties and fried. It looked like a roll of sausage. Except it was yellow with a few green flakes. And it was not in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe's. It was on the bottom shelf near my toes on the pasta and sauce aisle. The efficient packaging with the appealing shape caught my eye as I scanned the shelves.
"Polenta!" I thought as I closely scrutinized the package and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I like this stuff, don't I? I want to cook it!" So into the basket it went.
That was about six weeks ago. Ever since, this roll of basil garlic polenta has been in our kitchen cabinet awaiting it's fate. Which would be to be eaten, as soon as I remembered to plan a meal including it.
So Tuesday while I was shopping and planning meals for the week, I did remember to include the polenta. Thursday night was the night! First I sliced it into half-inch patties per the directions. It felt just a tad gelatinous and grainy at the same time. Figero was sitting over on his counter watching me, so I gave him a little chunk to taste test. He liked it. Wendy wandered in and she took a little taste too. Dud and Cosi looked a bit offended, so a little bite went to each of them also. No one raved about the taste, but no one complained either.
Next it went into a pre-heated skillet with a little olive oil. I was expecting the polenta slices to get crispy and brown, but such was not the case. The exterior did get a tiny bit crispy, but the color never changed despite me pushing up the heat. Wendy wandered in again as I was investigating the underside of one piece. She expressed pleasure that it had not gotten brown! We laughed. With some food things, she and I are quite different.
The polenta went well with the rest of dinner (london broil and steamed spinach). I'd like to learn how to use it in other ways. The taste was a little bland even with a dab of gravy on it, but the texture was nice. It all got eaten so I guess I'll be looking for other ways to incorporate it into meal plans. Supposedly it has Italian roots, but I think of it as Mexican. I have this idea to roll the polenta out flat, spreading a layer of spicy shredded beef on top, and rolling it all up jelly-roll style. Or maybe using it as a casserole layer somehow. There's potential there!
I'm getting used to cooking for two and am finally getting comfortable in our kitchen. It's only taken a year to adjust.
3 comments:
I recommend the dried polenta - where you reconstitute it yourself. That's what the sausage style does for you -- reconstitute it.
In Italian stores, you can also get smoked polenta. Yummy! I've heard of great polenta recipes with spaghetti sauce - but I haven't tried it. You may want to search for one such recipe on the web.
Cats love all corn products -- polenta being top notch! I'm not surprised your kitty liked it.
Nice photos. I enjoyed them!
Polenta is best with a really thick and rich pasta sauce on it--one full of chunky vegetables like red bell peppers or a good Italian sausage. (The best sauce I have had on it was boar!) Like the first comment said, try the dry polenta that you boil yourself (like cream of wheat). It is delightful to stir the sauce into the polenta once it's in your bowl! Any leftovers can be spread on a cookie sheet and refrigerated--they will turn into the gelatinous yet grainy substance you bought in the sausage package.
Thank you all for your comments and info on what it is and how to use it! Where does one buy it dry, I wonder. Does it come in a box like cream of wheat? I'll have to keep an eye out for it at the grocery.
Suzanne
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