Polenta

Creamy golden polenta with butter and Parmesan beside a bowl of coarse cornmeal.

Polenta is an Italian dish made by simmering coarsely ground cornmeal in water or stock until the grains soften and the mixture becomes creamy. It can be served soft, or cooled until firm and then sliced, grilled, baked or fried.

Polenta types

  • Traditional polenta usually uses coarse or medium-ground cornmeal. Finer meal cooks faster but produces a smoother texture.
  • Yellow polenta has a robust corn flavor; white polenta is traditional in parts of northern Italy and has a milder color and flavor.
  • Instant polenta is precooked and dried so it softens quickly, while traditional cornmeal needs more time and stirring.

Cooking and storage

Whisk the cornmeal gradually into simmering liquid to prevent lumps, then cook gently and stir often until the grains are tender. Serve soft polenta immediately, or spread leftovers in a shallow container, cool promptly and refrigerate; once firm, cut into portions for grilling, baking or pan-frying.

Polenta and Southern grits are both comforting cornmeal dishes, but they developed in different culinary traditions and may use different corn varieties and grinds. Both can be served soft and creamy or cooled until firm for slicing and reheating.

Ancient Romans ate a grain porridge called pulmentum, made before maize reached Europe. It was prepared from grains such as spelt, millet or farro. Modern corn polenta developed after maize arrived from the Americas and became established in northern Italian cooking.

This nutritive grain – known as grano saraceno is still popular in Tuscany for making polenta near and adds a distinctive flavor that was widely favored for centuries. Buckwheat polenta would eventually fall out of favor when a crop from the New World arrived in Italy sometime in the 15th or 16th centuries known as maize. From then on most of Italy’s polenta consumption was made from corn, which ranges in color from golden yellow to the Veneto’s white polenta.

Much of Italy’s polenta is still made the tedious old-fashioned way using a round bottom copper pot known as a Paiolo and a long wooden spoon known as a Tarello. For soft polenta, start with about four parts liquid to one part coarse cornmeal, then adjust for the grind and the texture you want. Traditional cornmeal may need 30 to 45 minutes of gentle cooking; quicker products cook faster, so follow the package as well as the grain’s tenderness. Purists insist that only a wood fire guarantees real polenta, but slow heat from any kitchen range will do. The most important thing is to stir the cornmeal slowly into boiling water after adding salt. To prevent the polenta from getting lumpy, a whisk may be used initially.

            When the contents of the pot have reached a certain degree of consistency, continue to stir slowly, always in the same direction, perhaps adding a little more cornmeal. The polenta is ready when it no longer sticks to the sides of the pot, which remain covered with a thin crust. If the mixture becomes too thick or solid, add a little boiling water or milk and keep stirring, stirring.

            Polenta is poured and spread out on a wooden board, often racquet-shaped, and is cut into slices with a cotton string or a wooden knife.