Polenta di Montenero

Bless me readers, for I have sinned. It has been two years since my last post. May this recipe lead me towards online redemption.

POLENTA (poe lan' ta) is the quintessential Italian dish. Made from ground corn, it was served in Montenero throughout the long, cold winter. It is simple, it is soulful, it is the dish we all remember. Put down your cell phone, YouTube some Italian music, and let's make some together, insieme.

RECIPE serves 2 as a main dish, 4-6 as a side, or one moderately hungry paisano

6 cups water
2 cups corn meal
1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese for topping
1 cup of marinara sauce for drizzling

Special Equipment: whisk and large wooden spoon
 
METHOD

Bring water to a boil in a stock pot. Add salt. Water will resume boil shortly.

Sprinkle in a small handful of the corn meal (approximately 1/4 cup) and stir constantly with the whisk. After several minutes of cooking and whisking, add another 1/4 cup of polenta (corn meal) and keep whisking. Pace yourself by continuously whisking for 3-5 minutes of cook time in between additions of the polenta. Continue this process until 1 and 1/2 cups of polenta have been added ot the water while you whisk constantly, no breaks allowed.

If mixture should start to boil in an angry way, like Nonna if she found out you skipped Mass, turn down heat until a more gentle bubbling resumes. Keep whisking, cooking the polenta until it thickens to the point where the whisk can stand up on its own. At this point, retire the whisk to a soapy sink.

Now we separate The Three Tenors from the wedding singers....time to use the basic folding technique with the wooden spoon until the polenta finishes cooking. Switch over to stirring with the wooden spoon.

Folding technique: Draw wooden spoon down the center of the pot, making sure spoon is dragging across the bottom. With a scooping motion, bring polenta-filled spoon up to the surface and turn polenta over onto itself, piano piano (softly and gently, like Nonna when she sang you to sleep as a bambino) Keep folding. Make sure spoon scrapes across the bottom of the pot every time, to prevent sticking.

Continue folding as polenta bubbles merrily along. This constant folding will become more and more difficult as polenta cooks. Keep going, keep folding. You can plan on about 4 choruses of 'O Sole Mio' (about 10-15 minutes) more of the folding, because no one will even pretend to offer you help at this point.

Montenerese cook their polenta much longer and to a much thicker consistency than the Napolitani or Calabrezze. Mantenere la forza (stay strong) and be proud. Polenta is done approximately 10 minutes after you think you will not be able to move your stirring arm again for several days. Remove finished pot of polenta from the heat. Total cooking time is about 30-40 minutes.
SERVING THE POLENTA

Prepare a large serving bowl by spooning and spreading 1/3 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom. Sprinkle a Pavarotti sized (generous) handful of pecorino romano cheese all over the sauce. Using two large serving spoons, scoop the polenta from the pot with one spoon, and drop polenta onto the prepared bowl with the other, spoonful by spoonful. Cover with remaining marinara sauce and cheese. Buon Appetito!

Prinatable version of POLENTA di Montenero Recipe