I love Polenta.  It is cheap, quick, versatile and just tasty!  A great potato or pasta alternative.  Okay, it is a bit bland alone but if you give it a bit of pizazz and glam, it is a fabulous ingredient.

I use instant, as I can’t be doing with 30 mins + of waiting.  Generally after work, I am hungry and want something in a hurry.  To be totally honest, I find Polenta easy to digest as well.  It is a winner, I promise you.

Boil your kettle/jug so you have extra hot water on hand, depending on the brand you have it may behave in a different way.  Contingencies 🙂

2 x cups of boiling stock (chicken or vege) with a decent knob of butter and a slog of olive oil.  And a good wack of salt and pepper.

1/2 cup of instant Polenta

Sprinkle the Polenta into the stock and stir.  It will start to thicken (instantly even!)

Keep stirring consistently and watch the consistency, it will get glue like quickly.  Add extra water or milk if you need to or take of the heat to calm it down.

After around 5mins, add another wedge of butter and lashings of grated Parmesan cheese (or another cheese of your choice)

Stir.  Taste. (add more butter, cheese, salt to taste) Eat.  With pork sausages and gravy or just by its self – maybe some fried sage.  Pan fried chicken with a tomato sauce or go vegetarian and have fried mushroom w cream over the top.  The world is your oyster once you have mastered the art of Polenta.

OPTION:

If you let it sit, it will set hard.  Pop it in a tray and into the fridge, you can then cut it into ‘fries’ and bake at a high heat (or shallow fry). Try here for chips