To Make Polenta
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the polenta
Put a large spoonful of butter in a quart of water.
Wet your corn meal with cold water in a bowl.
Add some salt and make it quite smooth.
Put it in the buttered water when it is hot.
Let it boil, stirring it continually till done.
As soon as you can handle it, make it into a ball.
Let it stand till quite cold.
Layer and bake
Cut it into thin slices.
Lay the slices in the bottom of a deep dish so as to cover it.
Put on it slices of cheese.
Put on that a few bits of butter.
Then add mush, cheese and butter until the dish is full.
Put on the top thin slices of cheese and butter.
Put the dish in a quick oven.
Twenty or thirty minutes will bake it.
Macaroni layer
Boil as much macaroni as will fill your dish, in milk and water, till quite tender.
Drain it on a sieve.
Sprinkle a little salt over it.
Put a layer in your dish.
Add cheese and butter as in the polenta.
Bake it in the same manner.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Corn meal (in the method)
- Its starch thickens as it boils, forming the firm, sliceable body of the polenta.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and browns slightly in the oven for flavour.
- Cheese (in the method)
- Melts into the layers, adding savoury flavour and a binding, creamy texture.
- Macaroni (in the method)
- Forms the tender pasta layer that gives the dish bulk and a softer texture.
The step that matters
Let it boil, stirring it continually till done.. Cornmeal can clump and scorch on the bottom of the pot if left unstirred. Constant stirring keeps it smooth while the starch swells and thickens fully.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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