Oven-Baked Polenta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does polenta do in baking? ›

Uncooked polenta makes a delicious addition or gluten-free alternative to flour in cakes, biscuits and pastries. Cakes made with polenta tend to be moist and dense with a pleasantly grainy texture.

Cover the pot and let the polenta cook while you go about making the rest of dinner. Every 10 minutes or so, uncover the pot and give it a good stir to make sure it's cooking evenly and the sides aren't drying out. Thirty to forty minutes later, your polenta is ready for the table.

A ratio of five parts liquid to one part cornmeal by volume produces polenta that's fully hydrated and cooked through, without any little raw, gritty bits. An optional presoaking step helps hydrate the cornmeal and cuts down on actual cooking time.

Polenta is done when texture is creamy and the individual grains are tender. Turn off heat and gently stir 2 tablespoons butter into polenta until butter partially melts; mix 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into polenta until cheese has melted. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.

In Italy, you'll find polenta made from yellow cornmeal or white cornmeal, though yellow is more common. The best polenta is made from stone ground corn, which comes in a coarse, medium, or fine grind. Cornmeal labeled polenta is usually a coarse-grind, but you can make the dish with a medium or fine-grind.

Making polenta is quick and easy and the digestive system loves it. Polenta is high in fiber and low in calories. Due to its neutral taste, it can be combined with various foods and served as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is filling and easily digestible.

Yes, you can overcook polenta but the good news is that it is easy to correct. You can adjust the texture again with more liquid until your ratio is perfect.

Polenta's pitfalls are threefold if you don't cook it properly. First, you can end up with what The Joy of Cooking calls a "raw" taste, and it's true: biting into a spoonful of undercooked polenta can make you feel like a chicken scratching for feed.

I was very impressed with this method which uses a secret ingredient of baking soda. Baking soda added to the cooking liquid can reduce the time it takes for the gelatinization to occur which in turn shortens the cooking time.

On occasion, I'll add roasted chickpeas or toasted pine nuts for crunch. Otherwise, I'll top it with a cooked veggie and a punchy sauce to make it a meal on its own: Cooked veggies are the perfect way to add hearty texture, richness, and flavor to creamy polenta.

What pairs with polenta? ›

Spoon steamed or cooked veggies over hot polenta. Add cheese, herbs or other favorite seasonings. Top polenta with your favorite pasta sauce. Add sautéed greens and protein of choice including meats, cheese, lentils and legumes.

(Which is why some recipes for polenta dictate that the constant stirring is truly necessary only at the beginning and then intermittently.) Placing the pot in an oven surrounds it with a uniform, unvarying temperature. When the temperature is constant, the stirring need not be.

You want coarse, stone-ground yellow corn to make the most delicious polenta. Instant polenta is parboiled, and while it does cook in less time than it takes to boil water, the trade-off is that the final product is often a gummy, gloopy mess. So, always avoid it. For the real deal, the extra time is worth it.

Water: Polenta should be made with water. Some Americanized recipes will start with milk and/or stock, but you want to hydrate your polenta. Water allows the flavor of the corn to shine. If you use stock, the flavor is just that, stock, and not the flavor of the corn.

Polenta makes a great alternative to mashed potato, when served with a hearty stew. But did you know it also makes delicious cakes, muffins, loafs and tarts? Here are 11 recipes to get you baking with polenta.

Polenta is a healthy gluten-free grain with lots of benefits including being a great source of fibre and protein. Find out more in our article.

Packages labeled polenta mean that the grind of the corn is appropriate to make the polenta dish, but you can substitute regular medium or coarsely-ground cornmeal instead. Don't use finely ground cornmeal or corn flour which have too fine of a consistency and will give the finished dish a pasty texture.

Polenta or Medium-Grind Cornmeal

A sprinkling of polenta or medium-grind cornmeal thickens soup slightly while adding just a touch of nutty corn flavor and a little texture, which I find makes the whole bowl a lot more satisfying.