My wife and I tried it last night with some spaghetti sauce. It seemed pretty flavorless. I know there are lots of ways to cook it up, does anyone have any ideas? Also, I am assuming it is a decently healthy food as long as it is not cooked in a bunch of oil and eaten in reasonable portions?

Am I the only one who has ever had this stuff?

I had some leftovers today for lunch with some meat sauce, it was very good. I think the time in the fridge overnight let some of the flavor sink into the polenta. I have read a bit about it and it is basically a corn meal substance that is often used in place of pasta or breads.

I would imagine you could do some pretty creative stuff with it...just need to find some ways that do not involve saute'ing it in massive quantities of butter or oil. :confused:

did you cook it with water? If so try some chicken stock or veggie stock. Add some parm cheese and a small pat of butter b4 serving.

what exactly is it?

coarse corn meal

It tastes pretty decent grilled and covered with sauce. :)

By itself, polenta is pretty testless. You need to cook it for a long time, untill it almost starts to burn on the bottom. That gives it a hint of roasted corn. But the key is - and here is where it stops being healthy- to mix alot of butter and either parmesan or pecorino cheese after its cooked. Adding a mess of salt instead of the butter and cheese might give it what it needs.


A good sauce to put over it - brown some italian sausage in the bottom of a pan with an onion and a hot fresh chili or two. After its good and brown - add some slices of zuccini. Saute for a minute, add a splash of whole milk and cook untill dry. Add a splash of white wine to deglaze, and add a few crushed canned tomatoes + juices. cook untill the zuccinni is tender, and thin it out with plain water as req'd. chunky and thick is good. Spoon it over some warm polenta and top with a little pecorino.

feel free to adjust it to make it a healthy recipe

There are a couple ways to do polenta healthy--

Make a ragu sauce with lean meat and fresh tomatoes.
Mix in some fat-free cheese...not quite authentic, but same concept.
Cook it up, pour in some milk and bananas and eat it like breakfast cereal--by far my favorite option.

Or, like everyone else is saying, brush it with olive oil and bake it/grill it until it's crispy.

I actually like it plain/straight if fresh... because I love real tamales and fresh corn tortillas... oh how I miss those right now. :drool:

Polenta is a tricky little staple. Similar to mashed potatoes in that on its own it is healthy, but most recipes undermine that by loading it with cheese and salt.

I'll usually throw some basil, garlic and sun-dried tomato in a blender with a small amount of water and blend that. Add this to the polenta before you grill or saute it. Throw some marinara on top. Delicious.