Perfect Polenta

Last night I whipped up polenta (for the first time). I served it with steamed asparagus, and pan seared rainbow trout. Awesome eats!
So here's my recipe for the polenta - and in the vein of my theme, feel free to substitute the spices, cheese, etc. to suit your taste and accompanying foods.

Perfect Polenta
Serves 4
1 cup ground corn meal (I used Bob's Redmill - coarse ground)
5 cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt

Dump 3 cups of water, salt, and corn meal into pot. Stir to incorporate the polenta and remove lumps. Heat on medium until it begins to simmer. Stir. Stir polenta every so often to make sure it doesn't stick. It will absorb the water and begin to thicken. Warm the remaining cups of water. In quarter cup amounts, add water to polenta and stir. Add water until polenta reaches desired thickness.

That is your basic polenta recipe. From there I added:
1 large shallot, 2 cloves garlic - chopped and sauteed in butter.
2 tablespoons butter
salt, pepper to taste
2 pinches of dried thyme
1 ounce goat cheese

Polenta is very healthy, gluten-free, and versatile. It would make a great base for a spicy meat with a good deal of sauce (like a stew).

Despite rumors of polenta being 'difficult' to cook, it proved to be very easy. It is time consuming, and benefits from slow, lengthy cooking. So while it isn't labor intensive, it does take quite some time to cook the perfect polenta!

Enjoy!

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