An alternative use for Italian polenta

Polenta is an Italian dish made with corn flour and water. In the region I’m from, we usually serve it as a main dish with leek sauce and sausage or meat soup with tomato sauce. In other regions is used instead of bread. They let it cool down in a loaf shape and grill it. This last way of cooking is also a good gluten free alternative to bread.

Ingredients for one loaf

• 600 ml water
• 150 gr corn flour
• 10 gr salt

Process:

1. Start by pouring the water and salt in a pot and let it boil Image 1.
2. Once the water is boiling, pour the flour slowly while you keep mixing with a whisk.
3. Let the mixture cook for 5 minutes while keep stirring Image 2.
4. Afterwards, pour the mixture in the baking shape and spread it evenly with a spatula Image 3 .
5. Let it rest for at least 4 hours in a cool place (e.g., fridge or if it is cold enough you can let it cooldown outside).
6. Once the polenta loaf cooled down, warm up a pan and in the meantime cut the loaf in slices.
7. Put the slices in the pan and let it grill on each side until reaching a golden colour. I would suggest to use either a non-sticky pan or pour a tablespoon of oil in the pan before grilling the polenta.
8. Serve while it is warm or let it cool down again and serve it cold as you would do with a bread slice.

Main tools needed:

• Pot
• Whisk
• Rectangular baking shape
• Non stick Pan

Gallery

• Image 1 Ingredients

• Image 2 Cooked mixture

• Image 3 Baking shape

• Image 4 Polenta loaf