Polenta
Polenta is a cornmeal mush that originated in Northern Italy as peasant food. But in the US, it’s served at upscale restaurants as a gourmet dish. The reality is somewhere in the middle. It can be a basic porridge with few flavors. Alternatively, it can be a high-end version with expensive ingredients in the recipe.
Polenta’s Qualities
Versatile: It can be creamy like mashed potatoes, firm enough to slice and grill, or baked into casseroles.
Comforting texture: Soft polenta is rich, warm, and smooth — perfect for stews, braises, or roasted vegetables.
Great flavor base: Its mild corn flavor pairs well with bold toppings like mushrooms, cheese, sausage, or tomato sauces.
Easy and inexpensive: Just cornmeal, water, and a little patience; low-cost and hard to mess up.
Naturally gluten-free: Works well as a pasta or grain substitute for gluten-sensitive diets.
Polenta two ways
Today, we are going to make two versions of Polenta, both from the “Cooking Secrets for Men” category. We use tubed polenta as a shortcut. No standing over the stove stirring in milk/cream/butter/cheese for up to 45 minutes.
Polenta two ways – Creamy and Grilled
Equipment
- Grill
- Med sized pot for boiling water
Materials
Side Dish – Creamy Polenta
- 1 16 oz. Tube precooked polenta Fat Free & Gluten Free
- 3 tbsp of Butter
- ½ cup of Milk or cream
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
Appetizer – Grilled Polenta w/Sauteed Mushrooms
- 1 16 oz. Tube pre-cooked Polenta Fat Free & Gluten Free
- 1 cup sliced Mushrooms
- 2 tbsp of Butter
- ½ cup white wine
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- ½ cup Olive oil for basting
- Fresh Rosemary as garnish
- Hot Grill & Basting brush
Instructions
To Prepare: Side Dish – Creamy Polenta
- Place the unopened tube of Polenta in a pot of boiling water. and boil for 5-7 minutes
- Remove the tube, dump the boiling water out, and return the tube of polenta to the pot
- Using a sharp knife, cut the tube in half and squeeze the polenta into the empty pan
- Add butter, cream, salt & pepper, and cheese and stir to blend
- Polenta will be ready after 1-2 minutes of stirring
To Prepare: Appetizer – Grilled Polenta w/Sauteed Mushrooms
- Slice the precooked tube into ½ inch slices, about 9 per tube.
- Heat butter in a pan and sauté mushrooms for 2-3 minutes
- Add salt and pepper as desired
- As mushrooms darken, add wine to deglaze the pan
- Add 1 more tablespoon of butter to the mushrooms
- Preheat your grill
- Use Basting Brush on sliced rounds of polenta with olive oil and grill on both sides for 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Remove from grill, and top with sautéed mushrooms and fresh rosemary
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Cooking Secrets for Men
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If you liked this recipe, then you should try our recipe for Broiled Tilapia with Thai Curry Sauce. Or you can try our Quarantini cocktail
Cooking Secrets for Men in the News
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Our series, Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, is featured in the “Milwaukee Magazine” May 2023 edition, “Civic Gastronomy”. Click here to read the full article.
A few days later, they were discussing me on the radio. It is a local Foodie show, “This Bites” on Radio Milwaukee 88.9, featuring dining critic Ann Christenson from Milwaukee Magazine and Radio Milwaukee’s resident foodie, Tarik Moody. My series, Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, is in the show’s first few minutes.
“Cooking Secrets for Men” is on the list of the Top 20 Men’s Cooking Websites on the Internet. You can read that article here. See where we rank for Men’s Cooking Websites.
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More Articles
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Shepherd Express (Milwaukee) article on our Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders show – you can read that article here
Good Counsel HS (My Alma Mater) Magazine article about Cooking Secrets for Men – you can read that article here.
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CanvasRebel Magazine Interview, available here.
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The side dish of Polenta could not be easier!
A very easy side dish to prepare
I’ve made both the creamy version and baked polenta as well, but never grilled. I think that’s brilliant.
Why thank you Chef! The grilled polenta is a re-creation from a restaurant we used to go to in Cincinnati. I like to re-create recipes that I find interesting from restaurants I go to. Thanks for the comments and best of luck to both of us!
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