Creamy Polenta with Savory Sauces

Polenta, a cornmeal porridge, can be a disappointment in the U.S., often weighed down with cheese and fat. Not to mention all that whisking. But in Italy we found a better way to make polenta with no cheese, no butter, and not much stirring. Coarse cornmeal is sprinkled into a generous amount of boiling salted water, stirred vigorously for 10 minutes, covered and left for about an hour. One more vigorous stir and it's done. The porridge is light and fresh and the corn really shines through. We followed that lead, using more water than called for in conventional recipes, but found that combining the cornmeal with cold, not boiling, water, then bringing the entire pot to a simmer, prevented clumping. We finished cooking the polenta in the oven rather than the stovetop which gave us more consistent, gentle heat. For the best flavor and texture, use coarse stoneground cornmeal; fine cornmeal produced pasty, gluey polenta, while steel-ground cornmeal had less flavor. We liked Bob’s Red Mill coarse-grind cornmeal and its polenta corn grits, but found that different brands can cook up with slightly different consistencies. The finished polenta should be pourable; if it’s too thick, thin it with water as needed. This polenta is perfect side to braises, such as Tuscan beef and black pepper stew. It can also be paired with a flavorful sauces.