Polenta Recipes
and How to Make Polenta
Polenta recipes can be made using instant polenta or the more slow cooking type of polenta.
You can use either type to make a creamy polenta that has a variety of uses.
What is Polenta? Polenta is basically ground cornmeal or ground maize that is coarse to finely ground in texture.
And learning how to make polenta the old fashioned way does take some time as well as a lot of stirring.
Instant polenta can shorten the cooking time to less than 10 minutes, but some say it is not as tasty as the slow cooking type of polenta.
You can do many things with a creamy polenta like using it as a replacement for pasta in many dishes or using it as a base for an Italian snack.
How to Make Polenta
Learning how to make polenta without a lot of lumps does take a bit of stirring and time. It usually takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour for polenta to turn into a creamy texture.
It will depend on the type of polenta as well as the other ingredients that you are using that will determine your cooking time.
What is Polenta?
Polenta is ground up cornmeal that is boiled with a liquid and sometimes other ingredients to create a porridge like dish.
You can eat your polenta really soft or put it in the refrigerator to harden. This will allow you to cut the polenta into squares or triangles to grill or bake with later - if you so desire.
You can find either white or yellow polenta. And the white polenta has a milder taste than the yellow polenta.
In the past, other grains were used to make a polenta and in Italy buckwheat was first used instead of corn.
Using Instant Polenta
To me using instant polenta is like using instant oats to make oatmeal. Just remember, there usually is a taste difference as well as a quality difference when you take the short cut.
The more processed a food, usually means the less healthy it will be - it's kind of a general rule.
Creamy Polenta
Polenta recipes when cooked properly are naturally creamy and by adding butter, milk, or cheese - this will make it even creamier.
You can then use your creamy polenta with many types of vegetables, meats, and sauces to create wonderful fulfilling meals.
Polenta can make a great replacement for pasta, rice, or even mashed potatoes.
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