As strange as it may sound, my dad always says he grew up eating “polenta e latte” (polenta and milk). In the morning, he would break a slice of hardened polenta into his bowl of warm milk and call it a breakfast. Although I never had the pleasure to try it, my mom confirms it’s delicious!
WHAT’S POLENTA, ANYWAY?
Cheap and filling, polenta is the quintessential peasant food of Northern Italy; it’s coarsely ground cornmeal cooked in water for a long time. Polenta is very versatile. Do you remember that Forrest Gump’s scene where Bubba goes on and on about shrimp? Well, I could go on and on about all the different ways to eat polenta! It can be yellow, white or dark (polenta taragna, a blend of buckweat flour and cornmeal). When soft, it’s the perfect companion for stews or any dish that includes a little sauce. When hard, it turns into a loaf that can be easily sliced and then pan-seared, grilled or fried. Here are just a few examples of how people in Friuli and Veneto like to eat it: polenta with sauteed mushrooms, polenta with melted cheese, polenta with grilled meat, polenta e baccala’ (salt cod), polenta con polastro in tecia (stewed chicken), polenta e spezzatino (beef stew), polenta e osei (birds!), polenta with eggs, polenta with salami cooked in vinegar, polenta with fried sardines…and the list goes on and on!
If you’re tired of serving the same ol’ potato salad at your summer barbeques or picnics, I’d like to suggest an excellent alternative which also happens to make GREAT leftovers: caponata, i.e. a lovely summer vegetable dish, combining wonderful Sicilian sweet-and-sour flavors.
2016 is almost here! Whoo-hoo!!
