Fried Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 1/2 garlic clove, minced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 quart boiling water
• 1/2 pound pork sausage or hamburger
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup flour
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. 1

   Fry onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the butter for a few minutes, add meat and mash it as it fries to keep it from cooking in lumps.

2. 2

   Turn into a saucepan with celery, pepper and boiling water.

3. 3

   Let boil, covered, for 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Season.

5. 5

   Add the cornmeal a little at a time, stirring out all lumps.

6. 6

   Finish cooking over steam, or in double boiler.

7. 7

   Cool in a mold.

8. 8

   Slice.

9. 9

   Dredge slices with flour and fry in remaining butter.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France) (1936) by Brown, Cora Lovisa Brackett Mrs., page 15. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

FRIED POLENTA 1 small onion, chopped 1 celery stalk, sliced Yl garlic clove, minced 1 green pepper, chopped 3 tablespoons butter 1 quart boiling water l/z pound pork sausage or ham- 1 cup cornmeal burger % cup flour Salt and pepper Fry onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the butter for a few minutes, add meat and mash it as it fries to keep it from cooking in lumps. Turn into a saucepan with celery, pepper and boiling water. Let boil, covered, 10 minutes. Season. Add the cornmeal a little at a time, stirring out all lumps. Finish 34 THE EUROPEAN COOKBOOK cooking over steam, or in double boiler. Cool in a mold. Slice. Dredge slices with flour and fry in remaining butter. Polenta was originally made of chestnut flour, as its name signifies. Then American maize took kindly to the soil and climate of Northern Italy and became an important crop. In the Fall, ears of corn, with husks turned back, gild the outer walls of farm houses and barns and add to the gaiety of the rural landscape. The grain is afterward ground in local mills as needed, for cornmeal must be fresh to lend its full flavor to the daily polenta dish eaten by every family throughout the winter. The score of polenta recipes range from the simple ones given here, to the rich Milanese polenta timbale, which is a thin, hollow mold of cold polenta, filled with a thick sweetbread ragout made with white wine and a dozen other ingredients, baked in the oven, and afterward elaborately garnished. FISH (Pesce) FILLET OF FISH ALLA MASSENA i pound fillet of flounder or i carrot, chopped fluke i onion, chopped Salt and pepper I sprig parsley Head and bones of the fish i tablespoon butter Cold water % cup flour and water paste Salt and pepper the fillets and place in a large soup plate. Cover head and bones with cold water, add carrot, onion, and parsley. Bring to a boil and cook % hour; strain; reduce broth to i cupful. Pour broth over fillets. Lay another soup plate on top and seal the two together with paste made of flour and water, so no steam can escape. Bake in a medium oven (350° F.) for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Open at the table, and the flavor will be amazing. FILLET OF WHITING ALLA VENITIA Grill the fillets dipped in oil. Season with salt and pepper, dust with grated Parmesan cheese and scatter over bits of finely minced or coarsely grated finocchio (sweet fennel). FILLETS OF BASS SICILIAN STYLE 1 Y2 pounds fillets of bass *4 cup white wine % cup fish broth 1 scallion, minced Salt and pepper *4 cup butter 3 mushrooms, chopped 1 tablespoon flour 1 dozen clams, or oysters Y2 cup lobster meat, diced 35 36 THE EUROPEAN COOKBOOK Lay fillets in oiled earthenware casserole. Add wine and broth made from boiling fish bones and heads; sprinkle with scallion and season with salt and pepper. Dot with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Cover closely and bake, or cook on top of stove. Brown mushrooms slightly in remaining butter; add flour, stir until well mixed; add broth from fish and thin with a little clam or oyster liquor; season, and boil 5 minutes. Have clams or oysters already poached. Add lobster meat to sauce and bring to a boil. Add oysters or clams, pour sauce over fish and serve in casserole. CODFISH BOLOGNA STYLE Salt and pepper 1 garlic clove, minced

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.