[Sca-cooks] spanish feast planning, part II: millet polenta
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise
jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
Fri Jul 14 13:02:13 PDT 2006
Here's the original I was working with:
Para hazer escudilla de mijo, o de panizo machado -- To make a dish
of millet, or of chopped panic-grass
Take the millet, or chopped panic-grass, clean it of dust, and of
any other filth, washing it as one washes semolina, and put it in a
vessel of earthenware or of tinned copper with meat broth, and cause it
to cook with stuffed intestines in it, or a piece of salted pig.s neck,
to give it flavor, and when it shall be cooked, mingle with it grated
cheese, and beaten eggs, pepper, cinnamon, and saffron. (You can also
cook the said grains with the milk of goats or cows.) And after they
shall be cooked with broth, letting them thicken well, they shall be
removed from the vessel and shall be left to cool upon a table, or other
vessel of wood, or of earthenware, and being quite cold, they shall be
cut into slices, and shall be fried with cow.s butter in the frying-pan,
and serve them hot with sugar and cinnamon on top.
My plan was to:
* Cook the millet with broth
* Mix the hot millet with beaten eggs, cheese, pepper, cinnamon &
saffron.
* Cook a bit more, sufficient to make it thick.
* Cool the millet
* Cut into slices
* Fry slices in butter.
First attempt:
I cooked 1 cup millet in 5 cups water (started out with 3, but had to
keep adding because the water was gone while the millet was not cooked). I
didn't add broth/base (yes, I'm a lazy heretic or anything.
Then I added a pinch of saffron, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 2
eggs, 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Cooked
it until it was good and thick, then put it in a rectangular container
and refrigerated it.
It was pretty clear that the combination of cheese was a) too much and
b) a suboptimal combination, and that yes, one really does need broth, milk
or something else to flavor the millet. I was afraid that the millet
wouldn't be wet enough to stick together.
after leaving the millet mixture in the fridge for 48 hours, I got it
out and prepared to fry it. First I poured off the liquid on top. Then I
tried to slice it. It was definitely too wet/gooey. Drat!
So, we fried some in butter in globs. Interesting, but it kept falling
apart when I went to turn it. Still, it was fried starch-- what could be
bad? Especially with cheese. Sarah wanted to try it again with broth in
the cooking water, and I wanted to use less liquid.
----
So, we tried it again.
This time I wanted to use some of the millet with dinner, first, so:
2 cups millet
7 cups water (3.5 water / 1 millet proportions) *
Brought to a boil, covered, and then reduced the heat very low and
simmered until very soft and creamy.
This time, with less water but a longer slower cook, the resulting mass
was more like pictures of polenta I've seen.
Pulled out about half for dinner.
With the remaining millet, mixed:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch saffron
1/3 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup shredded 4-cheese mix
2 eggs, beaten
over heat, until a thick mush resulted
Dumped it out into a rectangular plastic chinese food container and left
it on the counter to cool.
After about 45 minutes, the resulting object could be shaken loose from
the pan in a single oblong.
We put it in the fridge uncovered over night (for fear that it would
accumulate condensation if we covered it).
In the morning (ok, about 15 hours later), we took it out, sliced it
about 1/3 " thick and 2x4" slices, and fried it in butter in nonstick
skillets, trying for a nice uniform browning on both sides. The more
times we fussed with it, the more likely it was to fragment, but I'm
afraid I wasn't daunted by that! Definitely a success. I will hold out
some millet plain for those who
have dairy issues.
* Sarah still wants to try it with broth, I just forgot to put the meat
base in. I liked it with no broth, myself. It might be quite good with a
light vegetable broth though.
--
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
"History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it screams
'Why don't you ever listen to me?' and lets fly with a club."
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