What We Eat When We Eat Alone - Deborah Madison [19]
Soft Polenta. At this point you can pour the soft polenta onto your plate and add whatever else you’re having with it—sautéed mushrooms, braised greens, or blue cheese sauce.
Firm Polenta. For discrete pieces, pour the warm polenta into a bowl lightly brushed with olive oil, let it stand while you cook your topping, then turn it out. Now you can slice it and put wedges of polenta on the plate, or you can fry the pieces in olive oil or butter before serving.
Ways to Use Leftover Polenta
Leftover polenta will already be firm when you take it from the refrigerator. Slice it, then brown it in butter or olive oil. If you like it better soft, put it in a saucepan, add water to thin it out, whisk to make it smooth, and reheat. (Polenta, by the way, makes a warming breakfast cereal: flavor soft polenta with a little vanilla; add honey or sugar, a pat of butter, and milk.) Here are some other things you can do with leftover polenta:
1. Pour softened polenta in a bowl. Cover it with slices or crumbles of Gorgonzola cheese, grate over a little Parmesan, and add toasted breadcrumbs and chopped parsley mixed with some fresh marjoram. This is comforting in its goodness and simplicity.
2. To make a straightforward gratin, cut firm polenta into planks about 3⁄4 inch thick, cover them with tomato sauce, and add cheese such as Gorgonzola, Parmesan, fresh or smoked mozzarella, or a mixture of all three. Meat eaters might want to add sausage. Bake in a 375-degree oven until bubbly and hot, about twenty minutes.
3. Fry firm polenta in one pan and heat tomato sauce in another. Spoon the sauce over the polenta and add grated cheese.
4. Reheat polenta and serve with sautéed mushrooms to which you’ve added some diced tomato, fresh or canned.
Polenta Smothered with Braised Greens
Moky McKelvey finishes his dish by strewing pieces of prosciutto over all at the end. Leave it out and you have a good vegetarian dinner. Greens cook down so much that you might as well use an entire bunch. If there are any left over, use them to make the green panini with roasted peppers and Gruyère cheese.
POLENTA
1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL
1 SMALL ONION, THINLY SLICED
2 GARLIC CLOVES, FINELY CHOPPED OR PRESSED
3 OR 4 BIG HANDFULS CHARD, KALE, OR OTHER COOKING GREENS, LEAVES REMOVED FROM THE STEMS, RINSE AND TORN
SALT AND PEPPER
1⁄3 CUP WATER OR CHICKEN BROTH
A FEW DROPS RED WINE VINEGAR
3 SLICES OF PROSCIUTTO, CUT INTO STRIPS (OPTIONAL)
ASIAGO OR PARMESAN CHEESE FOR GRATING
1. Make the polenta and pour it into a lightly oiled bowl to set.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onion. Give a stir and cook until the onion is wilted, about 8 minutes, adding the garlic halfway through. Add the greens, sprinkle them with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and pour in the water or chicken stock. Cover and cook until the greens are wilted and tender, from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of greens used. Sprinkle with vinegar and add the prosciutto, if using. Let rest while you turn out the polenta. Cut polenta into slices and arrange them on your plate, cover with the greens, and grate the cheese over all.
Polenta with Corn, Scallions, and Sautéed Shrimp
When I thought of Sam Harvey tossing frozen vegetables into his grits, corn came to mind. Of course, it’s corn going into corn, but why not contrast the kernels with the grains? Instead of adding the corn to the polenta, I sautéed it with a half-dozen shrimp, lots of scallions, and cilantro. With a large pan to convey plenty of heat to the frozen corn, it should end up defrosted and cooked