Ma's Home Cooking...or is she?

The first time I ever encountered polenta on a menu in a restaurant, I almost laughed out loud. It was listed as part of an entree, and the description made it appear as if the polenta was a gourmet delicacy from northern Italy.

Give me a break.

Growing up, polenta was often my nonna's answer to potatoes. One of her tastiest dishes was what we kids called "chicken with the red gravy" - a chicken cacciatore - (to most Italians, 'gravy' is our word for 'sauce'). A nice serving of polenta topped with chicken with the red gravy -mmmm - it doesn't get much better.

Polenta is one of the simplest of dishes. It consists of water, salt and corn meal. Period. Its simplicity is what makes it so versatile - it is improved and elevated to greater heights by what you put on top, usually something with a tomato base. Also, you can punch it up by adding grated cheese as it nearly cooked, but a nice sprinkle of asiago, parmesan or romano on top will do just fine.

I've learned that there are a few tricks to making good polenta. You want it to be firm but not dry. Too soupy and it is useless. I vaguely remember it took a while for Nonna's polenta to cook, but she was usually making enough to feed a small army. My recipe - from start to finish - is for a smaller portion and takes about 15 minutes tops.

It's interesting how some things become popular or in demand. Anything to do with Tuscany has been the rage since Under the Tuscan Sun. When we were young, few Americans used olive oil in cooking - now it's worth its weight in gold and comes in different flavors. Pesto (Nonna's kitchen always smelled of basil and garlic), zucchini flowers, tiramisu, espresso, veal saltimbocca, prosciutto - and don't get me started on gnocchi - we had all these things growing up. In many cases they are simple things that our grandparents had as staples that helped to stretch meals. My mom told me that when she was a girl, lunch often consisted of a slice of Italian bread spread with gravy (tomato sauce) and maybe some cheese sprinkled on top. Since her family owned Nuti Bakery in Chicago, they were never without bread. I'm sure Nonna fed quite a few kids in the Taylor Street neighborhoods with this version of Depression pizza.

Here's my polenta recipe:

Bring to boiling in a saucepan

3 cups of water

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Gradually stir in a mixture of

1 cup yellow corn meal

1 cup COLD water

Continue boiling, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Cover, lower heat (to the lowest) and cook slowly 10 minutes or longer, stirring occasionally. (I've never gone over ten minutes.) Transfer cooked polenta to a warm platter and top with your favorite dish such as chicken cacciatore, tomato sauce with sausage and mushrooms, or roasted red peppers with garlic.

It is very important that the water mixed with the corn meal be very cold. I've even put some crushed ice in the water, but make sure it is no more than one cup combined.

To get the smooth look of the polenta in the picture, I pour the cooked polenta into a rounded pyrex dish to let it set. Then I invert it onto a platter.