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.
Servings: 4 servings
Polenta Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
We can trace the history of written recipes way back into the far past, in truth as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, sadly, these ancient recipes were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing meals.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to historians is a series of stone tablets in 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 drinkers feel exhilarated. Later on, in Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius assembled a collection of documents which described recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, Apicius describes how the roman meals were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main course and afters, something we still use today. Aspicius tells us how the Roman cooks were skilled in the use of many spices, including some familiar names like thyme, mint and dill. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and spices from Arab cuisine, including spices like basil and coriander. These new culinary innovations caused an increase in manuscripts on cooking, most of which are kept safe in private collections. For the next few years, the upper-class families of Europe tried to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and because of this the best chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that formal cookery and recipe books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to collecting, testing, and writing down recipes to help cooks of their time. By the advent of the twentieth century, cooking books are increasing in popularity as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased free time and having more money. The introduction of the TV brings us celebrity chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everyone to access thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Polenta recipe.
