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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Italian Polenta

Polenta is very cheap, easy, and delicious.  I ran into a good deal at a bent and dent store for grits/polenta and stocked up.
 

First, cook your grits - We had a lot of people eating, so I used 9c water, 1 1/2t salt, 3c grits, 4 1/2T butter.  Bring to a boil, cover, simmer for about 30 minutes.  Stir frequently; it will stick.  When it's done, pour/spoon into a greased bowl of some sort; I chose 2-9" pie plates.  Sit for 10 minutes or so.


Cover the pie plate with a cutting board or other flat object large enough to fit completely over the top. 

Invert.

Remove the pie plate; it should hold the shape of the dish.

Slice however large or small you prefer.

Serve with some sort of tomato sauce over the top; I prefer a simple marinara.

Basic Marinara Sauce
1/4c extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
1/4 a medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, pressed
2-28oz cans of diced tomatoes or 6c fresh diced tomatoes
Salt and basil to taste. (start with a teaspoon of each and add more if desired)

Saute the onions in the olive oil.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer uncovered till desired consistency is achieved. 

Italian Style Green Beans
Using 2 pounds of steamed/cooked green beans, stir in about 2T each of butter and evoo, 1t-2t each oregano and basil, 1t or more of salt and garlic powder to taste.
We really enjoy having green beans this way.

3 comments:

  1. When I was little, my mother made polenta in a similar way, but she would put it in a clean soup can for a mold to set overnight. Then we would slice it into discs and fry them for breakfast, until they were golden brown and crispy on the outside. You could try that too. God bless you.

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  2. Thank you - yes, we like to sometimes put it in a greased bread pan, let it sit over night,and then slice and fry like pancakes in a little butter - YUMMY!

    In Christ, js

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