Polenta, The Queen Of Poor Cuisine
Polenta is an ancient dish, tasty and nutritious. Sausages and various cheeses are the common accompaniment to Polenta, but Polenta is also a side dish to grilled meat. Polenta has its roots in Mesopotamia. It is considered one of the first cooked foods in human history.
Cereal flour is the basic ingredient of Polenta. Corn flour is the most used flour in Italy for Polenta, thanks to Cristoforo Colombo who imported it from America. That’s why Polenta is yellow!
From Babilonia to the Roman empire tables
Babylonians milled the cereals to obtain flour and cook it in hot water. Romans used to cook polenta with spelt and accompany it with lamb meat or milk. After its discovery, American corn became the most widely used cereal for polenta, and it is so to this today. In the eighteenth century, polenta was the only available food for poor families most of the time. For that reason polenta is very popular in the Italian cuisine, from the north to the south of the country.
Everybody loves it
Polenta is very appreciated in Italy, from the north to the south, in every region of Italy. But there are some regional recipes that stand out from the others. Polenta is pretty famous in the Italian northern cuisine but other regions of the country love it as well. They have dedicated many tasty recipes to polenta, using different ingredients or even different types of cereals.
Five recipe with Polenta for five region
As it is known, in the north part of Italy, Polenta is pretty famous, particularly in regions such as Veneto, Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige, Piedmont and the Aosta Valley.
In the Veneto region polenta it is very popular, and it is usually the accompaniment of liver and fish dishes such as cuttlefish. But Polenta with “osei” (birds) is for sure one of the main polentas the region. There is also a sweet variation of Polenta made with milk, honey and dried fruit.
Venetians took the corn to the city of Bergamo in Lombardy, but the region has still its own Polenta, called the Tarél. Tarél in dialect means wooden stick, the typical stick used to cook polenta with. That kind of polenta is particularly present in the Valtellina area. It is made with flour, corn, and buckwheat so the color is brown. Polenta Tarél has Bitto on the top. Bitto cheese may come from the Celtic population living in Lombardy a long time ago.
Some variations of Polenta in Lombardy
In the Valtellina area there is also a Polenta called “cropa”. In this Polenta the corn flour, and the buckwheat, are cooked with whipped cream, smashed potatoes and alpine cheese. In Varese Polenta is usually made with corn flour served with strips of beef cooked in lard and aromatic herbs, or with crunchy lake fish in the Como area.
Trentino Alto Adige calls its own polenta “carbonera”. Carbonera is made with corn flour from Store, salami, melted Spressa cheese, and onion.
Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta region have Polenta “concia” o “uncia”. It is a very soft Polenta eating with a spoon. Polenta “concia” has melted Toma cheese on top.
In the Langhe area, in Piedmont, Polenta is served with sweet sauces, eggs and milk.
How to cook Polenta
The traditional way to cook Polenta is to put flour in hot water, then stir strongly with a wooden spoon for around 40 minutes. There is also a great, alternative, way to cook Polenta in less time, and that is to use instant Polenta, which is ready in few minutes.
Creamy or fried, always good
Polenta can be creamy, fried or baked in the oven. In Italian cuisine food waste is always reduced to the minimum, and that goes with Polenta too. Polenta of “the day after” can be used to make some gnocchi by mixing Polenta with eggs, cheese, salt and flour.
From traditional to unusual topping for Polenta
Beside the traditional toppings for polenta, such as meat or cheese, there are some others like beans in Emilia Romagna, or black cabbage in Tuscany. Italians from Tuscany eat a lot of fried Polenta, and they also love the “pattona”, which is a Polenta made with chestnut flour.
Central Italy has its own polenta too, called Polenta “alla carbonara”. That Polenta has crispy bacon and fontina cheese on top. Central regions used to serve a creamy Polenta spread on a wooden table (spianatora). Each member of the family gathered around the “spianatora” to eat Polenta, with a fork, straight from it.
In southern Italy, in the Puglia region, there is a recipe called “Frascaddus” that is Polenta with fried onion and pecorino cheese. Calabria and Sicily, instead, have polenta “frascatula”, served with beets or broccoli.
