Ingredients
4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
Directions
BRING THE WATER TO A BOIL, add the salt, then whisk in the polenta,
pouring it in a slow, steady stream so that lumps don't form. Lower
the heat, and cook about 30 minutes, while stirring. Or cook the
polenta in a double boiler over simmering water for 45 minutes,
giving it a stir every 15 minutes or so. If you wish to serve the
polenta soft, keep it over the heat in a double boiler until needed.
To make firm polenta, pour it into a pan and set it aside; after a
while it will cool and firm up. Turn it out of its pan and cut it
into 1/2-inch slices. To broil or grill the polenta, brush both sides
of each slice with olive oil and cook until lightly browned. The
slices can also be fried in butter or olive oil, either until lightly
colored or until crisp, and they can be used as layers in a casserole.
DEBORAH MADISON - PRODIGY GUEST CHEFS COOKBOOK
Servings: 4 servings
Polenta (Prodigy) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
It is possible to follow the history of written recipes far back into distant history, in truth as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Having said that, in the main part, these early cookbooks were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a series of tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. Progressing into The time of the roman empire 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a collection of documents which described recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into appetizers, main meal and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Additionally, he describes how the early Romans made use of a wide range of aromatic flavors, including some that we all recognise such as thyme, mint and parsley. Later on, we find a couple of interesting cookery books which appeared in the 14th Century ; a recipe book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Perhaps surprisingly, these two books have no connection with the indian food that is served today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the wealthy. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and herbs from middle-east cuisine, such as parsley and basil. These new foods and spices created an explosion in recipe publications, some of which are now in academic collections. The introduction of the TV gave us celebrity chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everybody to search through massive numbers of recipes just like those on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Polenta (Prodigy) recipe.
