Tuesday, November 16, 2010

vegan mofo: homemade polenta

i have some italian heritage and feel that all italian foods should just come naturally to me.  not so easily, i learned.


status: somewhat fail.

why i'm including it:  i love the tubes of polenta you can buy, and thought there was no better was to use up some cornmeal than to cook up an authentic version.  unfortunately, i don't believe i ever saw my grandparents make homemade polenta (although i've heard stories).  a LOT of effort and time later, the results were just 'meh'.  (i added in some bell peppers to make it tastier)

would i make it again:  not sure. is buying it all that unauthentic?  i've seen one of the tubes in my grandma's fridge, after all.  :)

7 comments:

Allison, The Busy (Happy!) Vegan said...

I've made polenta a few times, too. You're right - it's SUPER-tricky. It's always tough to decide... with a little practice, you could probably make some dynamite polenta, but is it really worth the time when the store-bought stuff works so well?

Jessica said...

I probably like grits too much to really enjoy polenta. A homemade effort is good, but there's no problem sticking to the tubes. I once asked my grandma how to make pancakes, which she made from scratch, but she told me to use Bisquick.

Maybe it's worth a second try, though.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Allison, why mess with the best? Sometimes store bought is better (I learned this for real when I went through a make-my-own-almond-and-oat-milk phase).

jessy said...

oh no, sadface on the polenta semifail. :( i've always had luck in making it, which is funny to me because i'm irish and polish. ah ha ha! store bought can fo 'sho be yummy though - and why change a good thing. but if you ever want to give it a go here's what i do:
1. put 4 cups of water in a large pot & get it to a boil. (you can also use veggie broth if you like)
2. whisk in 1 cup of cornmeal and reduce the heat to low. keep on whisking and whisking and whisking and whisking.
3. cook on low for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
4. remove from heat and add in what you love the most. i usually put in a big dollop of earth balance, a few pinches of sea salt, and sauteed onions.
5. enjoy polenta yumminesses in a bowl! oh, or you can spread it out in a lightly greased pan and let it cool, transfer to your fridge to let it set up some more for a few hours - then cut into any shapes you want and saute or broil them.

also - i loved your comment, miss v.! cracked me up because dan says "it's the tits" every now and again and i've never heard anyone else use that phrase. i love it!

Rose said...

I recently bought one of those tubes, but haven't tried it yet. I have Italian background too, but honestly, I've never really liked it too much when I've made it myself either...I say stick with the tubes.

MeloMeals said...

Bummer it didn't work. Were you not happy with the texture or the taste? I find you have to season the crap out of polenta..

thanks for trying the cheese spread recipe.. and pointing out the missing steps! I ate some today and wasn't as thrilled with it.. I definitely am going to tweak the recipe more.

Mihl said...

It's funny, I never used storebought polenta. Well, to be honest, you can't buy it here. I'd like to try the tubs one day.