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!
