Polenta | Baked Polenta | Milk Polenta

Amongst the main dishes across eastern European nations, Polenta can be cooked in quite a few ways and this article explores some of them.

Preparation time: 1-2 minutes   Cooking time: between 10 - 30 minutes depending on the type of corn flour

You'll need: 

   - Corn flour: in a ratio to water of 1:4 

   - Water

   - Salt: to taste

 The main recipe: 

In a saucepan or a thick deep pan, pour water to boil, respecting the ratio of 1 to 4 and add a dash of salt. For each 100gm of corn flour, add 400ml of water. ||| Here you can alter the ratio as low as 1 to 3 or as high as 1 to 5. The less water you add, the thicker and sturdier the result where the more water you add, the creamier your Polenta will be.

Once water begins to boil, reduce heat to low-medium and pour over the corn flour steadily, not all at once. You'll have to stir as you pour it and keep stirring regularly afterwards to avoid formation of lumps. Keep covered while not stirring.

When stirring becomes difficult, your Polenta is ready. Remove from heat and from the pan.

If your Polenta is soft, place it in a bowl, otherwise place it over a chopping board. As it cools off, it becomes slightly harder.

Baked Polenta:

You'll need additional butter and milk.

First you need to boil corn flour using milk instead of water, for no more than 3 minutes. Towards the end of the 3 minutes, add 20-30gm of butter. 

Pre-heat the over to 210 degrees.

Then, prepare a baking tray, cover it with baking paper and pour the mixture over. 

Let it bake for a further 10-15 minutes. 

Source: https://www.libertatea.ro/ 

Photo by Árpád Czapp on Unsplash