Mainland Brazil · Volume 44, Fire, Mate and the Colônia Table
Polenta colonial
Serra Gaúcha and Santa Catarina, Brazil
Illustration
- Time
- 45 minutes
- Researched
- Researched from 103 sources in the brief
As tradition built it
Polenta colonial
Serves 4 to 6. About 45 minutes.
Ingredients
- 250g polenta cornmeal (fubá)
- 1 litre water or stock
- to taste salt
- to serve butter and cheese, or a simple sugo, to serve
Method
- Bring the water or stock to the boil and salt it well.
- Whisk in the cornmeal in a steady stream to avoid lumps, then reduce the heat right down.
- Cook, stirring regularly, for around 40 minutes, until thick and no longer grainy.
- Serve soft, finished with butter and cheese or a simple tomato sugo; or pour it out onto a tray, cool completely, then slice and fry or griddle it the next day, the colônia's other traditional way of eating it.
Notes
This chapter found the identity marker claims and the soft, fried and griddled preparation styles well documented academically, but no quantified water to cornmeal ratio specific to the colônia tradition distinct from generic Italian practice; the ratio above is a standard, workable one rather than a claimed regional original.
What a modern chef changes
Sous vide precision for the soft version, a properly rendered crust for the fried.
Rung 2.
Method
- Cook the polenta sous vide, cornmeal, liquid and salt sealed together and held at 85°C for around 2 hours, agitating the bag periodically: a genuinely hands off method for the soft version, with none of the risk of catching or lumping that stovetop stirring carries.
- Chill the set polenta fully before slicing, then finish the fried version in a very hot pan with plenty of fat, pressing gently, for a properly crisp crust against a soft interior rather than a pale, steamed looking edge.