[Sca-cooks] Polenta

[Decker, Terry D.]

In Latin, polenta means crushed grain or meal.  Technically, the millet
qualifies, the fava beans don't.  Bober is probably equating the word with
porridge, which has a broader definition.

Any grain meal can be turned into polenta by bring liquid 3 times the volume
of the grain meal to be cooked with a little salt tossed in to a boil, then
stir in the grain meal, return to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer
until the grain reaches the desire consistency (thick oatmeal is my
preference).  The grain can then be eaten or molded into a loaf.

As a small note, most grains are slightly sour.  Toasting the grain before
milling improves the flavor.  Meal can be toasted, but I find the grain
easier to work with.

Bear

Here are a couple of previously posted polenta recipes:

Fried Creamed Wheat 

(Apicius 301, as taken from Giacosa, A Taste of Ancient Rome) 

Aliter dulcia: Accipies similam, coques in aqua calida ita ut durissimam
pultem facias, deinde in patellam expandis. Cum refrixerit, concidis quasi
dulcia et frigis in oleo optimo. Levas, perfundis mel, piper aspergis et
inferes. Melius feceris, si lac pro aqua miseris. 

Another sweet dish: Take flour, cook in hot water so that it becomes a very
firm polenta, then spread it on a plate. When it has cooled, cut it as for
sweet cakes and fry in oil of the finest quality. Remove, pour honey over,
sprinkle with pepper and serve. You will do even better if you use milk
instead of flour. 

Barley Polenta 

(Pliny, Naturalis Historia, 18, 73, as taken from Giacosa, A Taste of
Ancient Rome) 

Vicenis hordei libris ternas seminis lini et coriandri selibram salisque
acetabulum. 

For each 20 librae of barley, 3 librae of linseeds and 1/2 libra of
coriander, in addition to an acetabulum of salt. 

12 oz. ground barley 
3 Tbs. linseeds 
2 tsp. coriander 
sufficient salt 

Boil 1 quart of water, gradually add the ingredients, and leave to cook for
approximately 1 hour. Add more boiling water if the barley consumes too
much. A more flavorful polenta can be obtained by cooking the barley in meat
stock or vegetable broth instead of water. 


> According to Bober, Italian mountain-dwellers made polenta from millet
> and/or fava beans in period, but she doesn't provide a 
> citation for this.
> 
> John le Burguillun