Recipe: Cornmeal Mush or Polenta

Cornmeal Mush or Polenta
rec.food.cooking/Scott Fisher

Well, when I'm being a California Nouvelle haute Italian food critic type person, I call this polenta, but my mom's family in Oklahoma always used to call it cornmeal mush. (My wife's family, from Philadelphia, call it scrapple, but they put meat in it. Oh well...)

The simple way:

1 cup cornmeal
3 cups boiling salted water

When the water comes to a boil, stir the cornmeal into it gradually. I find that a whisk keeps it from getting lumpy. Cook for several minutes or until it takes on the consistency of Cream-of-Wheat. If you want thinner or thicker cornmeal, adjust the water accordingly, but we've found that 3:1 works well and makes a consistency we like.

Now, here's where things get interesting. You can do a *lot* of different, and all very cheap, things with cornmeal mush (or polenta). For starters, you can use it the way you would pasta -- that is, pour it on a plate and top it with tomato sauce and cheese. Add some grilled Italian sausages for a real treat.

You can also cook with it, in either of two ways. We like to pour the cornmeal into a baking dish, top it with things -- cheese and mushrooms, red sauce, sliced sauteed vegetables, etc -- and then bake it in the oven for about half an hour.

Try this one:

1 recipe cornmeal mush, as above
1/4 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1 thinly sliced tomato
Olive oil and herbs to taste
1-2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Spoon about half the cornmeal mush into a "brownie pan" (what is it, about 6x9-inches?). Top with the rest of the ingredients, in that order -- mozzarella, then tomatoes, drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle lightly with herbs, at least oregano and basil (fresh if you've got them), then toip with grated cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cheese has bubbled and browned. Serve immediately (but watch out, it's *h*o*t*!)

But the best thing to do with cornmeal mush is what my grandma used to do with it:

Take the rest of the boiled cornmeal and put it into a loaf pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate. In the morning (or in a couple of days, I suppose this would keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge but I've never been able to wait :-), slice the now-
firm cornmeal loaf into slices about 1/4-1/2-inch thick. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Rub a few pats of butter on the griddle and cook the cornmeal until nicely browned. (Tip: cornmeal will stick unless you slide it around in the hot butter just as you put it in the skillet/on the griddle!) Cook on both sides and serve with maple syrup, molasses, or sorghum.

I've also cooked the chilled cornmeal the same way, but in olive oil, and then served it with red sauce and sausages. But there isn't much more comforting on a cold morning than to come out to a kitchen full of sizzling cornmeal cakes (or so my wife says; I'm always Mr. Cornmeal in the mornings).

BTW, we've enjoyed using cornmeal that is ground a little coarser, sold as "polenta flour" or some such name. It gives the product a nuttier, chewier texture that we like. Your mileage may vary, and in a pinch, plain old cornmeal does just fine.