I recently got a bit polenta obsessed and experimented endlessly (slight exaggeration there, I have since stopped), anyway see here: http://www.spectator.co.uk/scoff/blog/6855628/farina-di-mais.thtml for my ramblings on the Spectator's Scoff blog.For the piece I wrote some new recipes:
Simple, ‘wet’ polenta
200g polenta
1.2 litres good quality vegetable stock
Knob of butter
25g Parmesan, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan, and then slowly pour in the polenta in a constant stream, stirring all the time to prevent lumps forming. Turn down the heat and keep stirring until cooked (about 5 minutes for quick, about 45 for slow but check the packet instructions). Once the polenta is coming away from the sides of a pan, you can start to stir in the butter and cheese. Season to taste and remove from the heat.
Polenta Crumble topping
Makes enough for the cake plus surplus for plum crumble
115g fridge-cold unsalted butter
100g polenta (I would use the non-quick cook variety)
50g plain flour
115g golden caster sugar
50g porridge oats
A sprinkling of cinnamon or mixed spice as you wish
Mix the butter, polenta and flour with your fingertips until they resemble breadcrumbs. Alternatively whizz them in a food processor. Then mix in the sugar and porridge oats.
Rhubarb and Orange Polenta Crumble Cake
Need one 23cm spring form baking tin
350g rhubarb, cut into 1 cm chunks, sprinkled with 50g caster sugar and left for an hour (this creates lovely sugary juices)
150g golden caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 medium eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
1 orange
Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease the tin and line the base with baking parchment. Cream together the butter and sugar and then beat in the eggs. Zest the orange into the mix and add 2 tablespoons of the juice. Sieve the flour and mix it with the almonds and cinnamon, then beat into the wet ingredients. Stir in the rhubarb and all the sugary juices. Pour into the prepared tin. Cover with a layer of the crumble mix (see above) 1cm deep. Bake for 50mins to an hour and leave to cool in the tin.
