5 Ingredients or Fewer
Carlo Middione's Polenta Facile
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50 Reviews
Vivian
April 26, 2020
Followed directions, longer than expected but stuck with it, and it was amazing.
Ed C.
June 27, 2016
Anson Mills had a recipe for using a slow cooker for their polenta rustica. three cups cold water and one cup polenta; cook on high setting for 90 minutes, with one or two stirs; then add a tbs butter, a little sea salt and cheese.
daisybrain
December 26, 2014
I saw a comment down the line where someone asked about a slow cooker. There were no responses and I am wondering the same thing. I guess I'll just try it. My thought is to start the polenta then pour it into a pre-warmed slow cooker. If anyone has any insight I'd love a tip.
ashley's B.
December 26, 2014
Some food for thought from one brain to another (sorry. couldn't help it): I think your idea of 'manually' getting things hot to start with is right.
I've used my rice cooker on the 'porridge' cycle, dumping everything in cold. The rice cooker brings things up to a boil before lowering it down to a simmer. If you manually do the 'boil' part (even if it's not quite up to boiling), then I bet the slow cooker can do the rest. Try boiling your liquid, adding it to a pre-warmed slow cooker, then stirring in the polenta right into the slow cooker and letting the slow cooker take it from there.
I'd love to know what you try and how it turns out.
I've used my rice cooker on the 'porridge' cycle, dumping everything in cold. The rice cooker brings things up to a boil before lowering it down to a simmer. If you manually do the 'boil' part (even if it's not quite up to boiling), then I bet the slow cooker can do the rest. Try boiling your liquid, adding it to a pre-warmed slow cooker, then stirring in the polenta right into the slow cooker and letting the slow cooker take it from there.
I'd love to know what you try and how it turns out.
Kristen M.
December 26, 2014
From various comments, I've also learned that you can mix the polenta directly into the water from cold, then bring it up to a boil, stirring occasionally (and therefore avoiding the need to do the vortex part) -- might be helpful when translating to the slow cooker!
beejay45
February 18, 2014
I've never had a problem with lumps either. I think it's one of those things that logic will take care of, I mean you know you have to stir it in, you can't just dump it...if you don't know even that much about cooking, you don't belong in the kitchen. ;) I, too, use a whisk and just whisk it in slowly -- usually to hot milk/broth/water, then give an occasional stir. My friend swears by the oven method, though, and I love her polenta, too. (This is showing "polenta" as a spelling error with the suggested fix being "tadpole"! Hilarious!)
BTW, they sell the Wonderbag on Amazon. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm wondering if you have to add more liquid than usual since, off heat, you can't be adding more without lowering the temp. Anyone tried that with polenta yet?
BTW, they sell the Wonderbag on Amazon. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm wondering if you have to add more liquid than usual since, off heat, you can't be adding more without lowering the temp. Anyone tried that with polenta yet?
Deborah B.
October 20, 2013
I found Wonderbag here online. (I'm not affiliated with them in any way, nor do I own one... but would like to reduce my use of fuel) http://nb-wonderbag.com/
ashley's B.
May 12, 2013
This made me hungry for polenta. Inspired, I tried making it in my Sanyo rice cooker on the 'porridge' setting. Used this same ratio of liquid to polenta. Used half whole milk, half water; added about 2 Tbs butter. Added everything cold, stirred to mix, and started it. I did give it a stir after about 45ish minutes to make sure it was all mixed & smooth.
Marvelous!! Creamy and soft, and no muss and no fuss. Plus it automatically held on the 'Keep warm' setting. If you have a rice cooker with a porridge setting, give it a shot.
Marvelous!! Creamy and soft, and no muss and no fuss. Plus it automatically held on the 'Keep warm' setting. If you have a rice cooker with a porridge setting, give it a shot.
mboerner
April 17, 2013
Being lazy, I use the microwave: 5 c. water for each cup of good cornmeal; put in water; pour in cornmeal; whisk with wire wisk; cook cover at high power in microwave for 30 minutes; stir again with wisk; cook 30 minutes at low power in microwave. Voila, perfect polenta. But use only Arizona Mills or other excellent cornmeal.
Herself
March 7, 2013
I follow Martha Rose Shulman's directions for cooking polenta in the oven. Works like a charm.
TheWimpyVegetarian
March 7, 2013
I love the note below on the Wonder Bag and want one now. And this is a great, great way to do polenta. I was lucky enough to be in classes in school that Carlo taught on Italian food before his car accident (which caused me to lose his sense of taste). He is a gentle soul as well as brilliant.
Lesliebling
March 7, 2013
The Wonder Bag info is fascinating! I wonder if we all shouldn't consider ways to cook with less energy...
lemons
March 7, 2013
Whisks always leave me with corners of the pan untouched. I use a wooden spatula for most of my wooden spoon-type work, much better at reaching the corners.
duckfat
March 7, 2013
After you whisk the polenta give the sides of your pot a good stir with your spoon et voila, no lumps.
walkie74
March 7, 2013
Anybody got any idea if the slow cooker idea works? It'd make a hell of a breakfast in the morning, if it did...
SBKSB
March 6, 2013
I've also read a recipe--Lidia Bastianich, maybe?-- for starting the polenta in cold water, which prevents lumping, and then bringing it to a boil. Seems to work--why isn't it recommended here, I wonder?
Twixen
March 6, 2013
Agree with Duckfat....I've always used a whisk at first when adding polenta to water and I don't remember ever seeing lumpy polenta, didn't realize people even had this problem with polenta :-).
Tokyo Y.
March 6, 2013
How about putting the pot into a water bath in the oven - if it is 1 1/2 hours? Has any body tried that?
Cutie
March 6, 2013
I always add the polenta to COLD water and then bring it to a boil and Never get lumps!
JRG
March 6, 2013
Intriguing! And if you did it early in the evening, you could have toasty toes at bedtime... MOre seriously, it seems that one could also do this in a crockpot AKA slow cooker.
JRG
March 6, 2013
Intriguing. And it you did this at bedtime, you could have toasty toes too! More seriously, I am wondering if you could do this in a crock pot AKA slow cooker....
susan G.
March 6, 2013
Clarification? Per step one, the upper pot is in the water of the base pot, not over it (the usual double boiler rule, as seen in the A&M video)? Step 4 says 'underneath'?
Lisa P.
March 6, 2013
Great! I love these genius recipes; it's like having a loving grandmother providing her well guarded secrets on a variety of culinary adventures.
Betty M.
March 6, 2013
I cook them in a pressure cooker. Just put it a trivet and use a metal pot that will fit into your cooker and leave room for water in the cooker bottom. Soak them with a 4 to 1 ratio of water to in my case grits over night. Put in 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt per cup of grits used. Get the pressure up to 15 pounds for 22 minutes. Longer if you want mushy but I hve never gone past 25 minutes.
Gail H.
March 6, 2013
I have used a bowl set over simmering water to keep cooked polenta warm but never thought of using it as a cooking technique. GENIUS! I will be trying this method very soon; we love polenta!
ItalianFoodie
March 6, 2013
I put my polenta into the oven at 325 for as long as I want. It gets nice and toasty roasty. BTW, any long cooking recipe can be put in a slow oven, sop, chili, pasta sauce, you name it. You can cook it without stirring or sticking. I usually set the oven at 300-325F.
Thistle
March 6, 2013
Hmmm, intriguing. Do you start it on the stove top then put it in the oven to cook or just stir it together in a casserole dish and put it in? And how long 'til it's ready?
ItalianFoodie
March 6, 2013
I usually bring it up to temp in the oven, and then just put the food, covered, in the oven. Simmer in the oven as long as you would on the stovetop
duckfat
March 6, 2013
Use a whisk instead of a spoon when adding the polenta to the boiling water. It makes it impossible for lumps to form.
Lesliebling
March 6, 2013
Hm, this sounds like a good approach to polenta, but it does require a double boiler, which I don't have. I recently invented another lazy way to make polenta, which was inspired by a Danish friend, who told me that the key step in making Danish rice pudding is putting the hot pot of partially cooked milk and rice into bed and leaving it under the covers for a long time! I tried this with polenta and voila, it worked!
I start the polenta as described here, using 4 cups of salted boiling water per cup of polenta, stir until it starts 'spitting' and then cooking and stirring 5-10 more minutes. Then the polenta goes off to bed, wrapped in a feather quilt. Between 30 to 60 minutes later, I take it out and it's pretty much done. I heat it up again for good measure and put in some butter and Parmesan.
Not everyone has a double boiler, but I would hope most people have a bed :)
I start the polenta as described here, using 4 cups of salted boiling water per cup of polenta, stir until it starts 'spitting' and then cooking and stirring 5-10 more minutes. Then the polenta goes off to bed, wrapped in a feather quilt. Between 30 to 60 minutes later, I take it out and it's pretty much done. I heat it up again for good measure and put in some butter and Parmesan.
Not everyone has a double boiler, but I would hope most people have a bed :)
Ascender
March 6, 2013
I have something called a Wonder Bag, which is like a bed for cookware. If you bring a pot to the boil, it will keep food slow-cooking for 4-8 hours without the temperature dropping below 140F. I also use it for culturing yogurt, making quark, etc.
The Wonder Bag was invented due to the fuel shortage in Africa. They can stew foods for hours using only 15 minutes worth of fuel. It is also used in refuge camps, where there are many more families than electric cook-rings. One camp for Syrian refugees has 20 families using each cook-ring. A woman brings her pot and gets 15 minutes to bring it to the boil before tucking it into the Wonder Bag and leaving the cook-ring to the next woman. All 20 families end up with warm dinners.
The Wonder Bag was invented due to the fuel shortage in Africa. They can stew foods for hours using only 15 minutes worth of fuel. It is also used in refuge camps, where there are many more families than electric cook-rings. One camp for Syrian refugees has 20 families using each cook-ring. A woman brings her pot and gets 15 minutes to bring it to the boil before tucking it into the Wonder Bag and leaving the cook-ring to the next woman. All 20 families end up with warm dinners.
Lesliebling
March 7, 2013
Ha, glad my method is amusing. It really does work though. And apparently putting food in bed is nothing unusual in Northern Europe, as my German relatives regularly stash rice or potatoes under the covers if they are done cooking before the rest if the meal!
mbr101
March 8, 2013
Lesliebling, what do you mean when you say, " under the covers", "Then the polenta goes off to bed, wrapped in a feather quilt." I realize the last quote is a creative speech but am wondering if you simply cover it up & let it sit on stove. I've learned to ask than assume :) Thanks for sharing!!!
Lesliebling
March 8, 2013
HI mbr101, actually this is not creative speech! By "covers," "bed" and "feather quilt" I mean exactly that. I take my pot of hot, half-cooked polenta from the kitchen to my bedroom, put it on the bed and cover it snugly with a quilt. As I mentioned, I'd already learned from my German relatives to keep cooked food warm this way (usually potatoes or rice). Then my Danish friend said that this method is actually used to *cook* rice pudding in Denmark, which is what led to my polenta idea...
mbr101
March 9, 2013
soooo, I continue to learn not to assume ;) Thanks for your reply :) Much appreciated...
Butterfingers
February 25, 2018
Did you get to the website. http://www.wonderbagworld.com There are a couple of articles on The Borgen Project website also.
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