Recipe: Oven-Baked Method for Polenta, Grits, or Mush

OVEN-BAKED METHOD FOR POLENTA, GRITS, OR MUSH

"Foodwriter Paula Wolfert says this stir-free method of cooking polenta changed her life. She discovered it on the back of a package of Golden Pheasant polenta, and Ed Fleming of Golden Pheasant told her it was an old Tuscan peasant recipe. She wrote about it with something close to rapture in the March 1999 issue of Fine Cooking. It works deliciously, and I think you will love it as much as I do.

As Paula writes, it does require a "leap of faith," because for at least half the baking time the water and cornmeal separate, but they reunite roughly 25 minutes into the baking."

3 1/2 to 6 cups liquid*
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground, coarse or fine
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Generously spray a 3-quart skillet with cooking spray. A nonstick skillet is much preferred, but make sure it is heat-safe to 350 degrees F; it probably said this on the tag you threw out.

Add all the ingredients and stir well. The mixture will separate, with the cornmeal sinking to the bottom. Don't worry. Just put the pan in the oven, uncovered, and forget about it. Don't give it a second thought until 40 minutes are up. At this point. stir the polenta, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.

Serve the polenta soft, as is, or chill and "set up."

*Although water is the widely used cooking liquid for polenta, almost anything can be used for variety or richness. All or part spring water or dairy, rice, or soy milk; all or part vegetable stock; perhaps all or part fruit juice (for a sweet dish or hot cereal; apple juice-cooked polenta, with a little almond butter stirred in afterward, is a great favorite with some children I know). Be aware, though, that cornmeal cooked with anything but water - especially milk-does not keep as well.

Makes 4 servings as a side dish
Source: Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon