Saturday, May 23, 2009

Polenta Bread

Makes 8 to 10 servings. This bread can be prepared and wrapped in plastic. It tastes great when served the next day.


INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 medium white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups medium or coarse ground cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino romano or parmesan
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups half-and-half or light cream, at room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten at room temperature
1 8-oz. jar oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained, snipped and halved
4 ounces chopped pancetta, crisp-cooked and drained
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon minced, fresh rosemary

DIRECTIONS:
1. First, caramelize the onions. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and vinegar over medium heat in a large skillet. Place onions in skillet and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 40 minutes until the onions soften and caramelize. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375. In medium bowl stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, cheese, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Place in oven for 5 minutes. Remove skillet or pan from oven; carefully swirl oil in pan to coat bottom and sides of pan.
3. For batter, in large bowl combine half-and-half, eggs, and remaining oil. Stir tomatoes, pancetta, garlic, and rosemary into egg mixture until combined. Add cornmeal mixture all at once to egg mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 10 minutes then cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature with a caponata, tapenade, infused olive oil or softened butter.

**Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal. It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. Polenta was originally, and still is, a peasant food. It comes from earlier forms of grain mush (known as puls or pulmentum in Latin or more commonly as gruel or porridge) eaten since Roman times. Early forms of polenta were made with starches such as the grain farro and chestnut flour.

*Polenta is traditionally labor-intensive and takes a long time to cook, sometimes taking an hour or longer and requiring constant stirring. This has led to a profusion of shortcuts. These include alternative cooking techniques that are meant to speed up the process. There are also new products such as instant polenta, popular in Italy, that allow for fast, easy preparation at home (although the results are usually lackluster). When boiled, polenta has a smooth creamy texture due to the gelatinization of starch in the grain.

Recipe by Cristina Paul

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