Dear Chef Kathleen,
 
Do you have a good way to prepare polenta? I don't like the instant polenta because it's not as full bodied as the long-cooking version, but I usually end up burning the long cook one because I get distracted. I'm looking for a good way to serve it to my husband, who only likes meat.

Catherine


Dear Catherine,

Polenta, sometimes called cornmeal mush, is a close cousin to grits. Both are made from ground white or yellow cornmeal. Polenta, sometimes called cornmeal in the grocery store, is sold in fine, medium and coarse grinds. Medium and coarse grinds yield a nutty, full-bodied bowl of polenta. Finely ground cornmeal, also called cornmeal flour, is most often used in baking.

I've burned a few pots of polenta too, so out of necessity, I've come up with a way to cook polenta in the oven.

This creamy baked polenta tastes richer than the stove top original, perhaps because I didn't have to stand over the pot and stir for 45 minutes nonstop. Nonetheless, it's a wonderful technique to master because polenta suppers are about as easy as no-fuss meals can get.

Leftover polenta can be spread on a cookie sheet and refrigerated overnight to become what's known as hard polenta. Hard polenta can be sliced into cubes, squares, triangles or cookie cutter shapes and then baked or grilled and topped with savory sauces or cut into cubes and served crouton style in salads.

Creamy Baked Polenta

To prepare, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1 quart of water into a 1 1/2 quart, nonreactive baking dish. Add 1 cup coarse polenta, salt and cracked black pepper to taste and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Place dish on center oven rack and bake uncovered 40-50 minutes, stirring at the halfway point. Polenta is done when practically all the liquid has been absorbed. Taste it. If it's creamy and good, it's done. If it's granular and little unpleasant, let it cook a little longer. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Polenta can be served simply with butter or cheese, but to create a heartier meal, you can top it with just about any pasta topping. I'm quite sure this meat sauce will please any meat eater, including your husband. I've served it over plates of steaming pasta, spooned it over grilled eggplant and layered it into lasagna. I nearly always make this recipe in double batches because it freezes so nicely.

Meat Sauce for Polenta or Noodles

In a 3-quart or similar size saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat. Add 1 peeled, cored and finely diced onion, 1 peeled and finely diced carrot, 1 finely diced celery stalk and 1/2 pound of finely diced porcini or button mushrooms and cook until softened, about 15 minutes.

Add 3/4 pound lean ground beef or a mixture of beef, veal and pork, and using a long-handled spoon, break up the meat and cook, stirring often, 6 to 8 minutes (you'll still see pink).

Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and 1/2 cup good quality red wine, beef stock or chicken stock. Add 1 28-ounce can peeled and chopped plum tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 25 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped herbs such as parsley, basil, oregano and or sage in any combination you like.

Cook 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings.

Meat sauce tips and shortcuts:

• Prep the veggies the night before.
  
  
• Throw veggies in a minichopper (separately) instead of mincing them perfectly by hand.
  
  
• To avoid tomato paste waste, scrape tomato paste from its can, place it in a small freezer bag, squish into a log and freeze it so you can cut off the small amounts recipes call for without wasting the whole can, which can mold pretty quickly in the refrigerator.
  
  
• Make a double batch. It freezes quite well. It's delicious served over pasta or broiled leftover hard polenta with or without a poached egg.
  
  
• If you can't get your hands on fresh porcini mushrooms, use 1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms. Place them in a small bowl with hot water from the tap for 30 minutes. Remove them from the liquid, rinse them, squeeze and discard excess liquid and finely chop. Strain the mushroom soaking water through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and use it in the sauce.

kd@chefkathleen.com