[Sca-cooks] spanish feast planning, part II: millet polenta

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

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."