Italian polenta is a mush must

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, May 15, 2002 | 8:29 a.m.

Polenta means mush in Italian, and this once-lowly food is evolving into a popular and filling American side dish. It has always been a delicious option to rice or potatoes, and the popularity of northern Italian cooking has made it more visible on the American food scene.

Polenta is yellow cornmeal ground in different ways, usually differentiated by the size of the grind, as is coffee. Polenta is similar to grits, except that grits are made from dried white corn, which is often treated with chemicals. In theory, polenta never is.

Similar to rice or pasta, both of which are popular in Italy, polenta is versatile, and serves as an artist's canvas for whatever dish it accompanies, absorbing flavor and adding richness. Here we are concerned with corn polenta, as it can also, in theory, be made from chestnut meal, or other substances. In Romania it is known as mamaliga, and it is also a staple there, eaten with sour cream, stewed chicken or grilled meat. Once cooked, polenta can take a variety of forms -- soft, dense, creamy, firm, fried, boiled and baked.

Polenta has been around for quite a while, maybe even millennia. Both the Venetians and the Lombardi of northern Italy lay claim to it -- two regions that use it, even to this day, as a staple, as does Piedmont and other northern Italian provinces. After many wars in their histories, polenta has been the only sustenance these Italian regions have had to rely on.

In most of those regions, polenta is typically prepared in large copper pots and stirred by huge wooden spoons.

Polenta expert Anna Lando of the wonderful Siena Deli, at 2250 E. Tropicana Ave., says that in Italy it isn't polenta until it is cooked.

"It is bramata per (for) polenta before cooking, and I should know," she says emphatically, patting her tummy.

"After the big war," this easygoing native of the Veneto says of World War II, "that was all we had to eat. If it weren't for polenta, I probably wouldn't be here today."

Siena Deli is a treasure trove of good Italian products, including fresh bread that comes from its wholesale bakery on Spring Mountain Road, beautifully cured olives sold in bulk, rare balsamic vinegars, premium olive oils and much more.

Lando never uses the instant variety at home, although she says it is sometimes hard in Las Vegas to get the non-instant variety of polenta. Her deli and market sells three varieties of instant polenta: La Polenta Beretta, $2.99 for a 17-ounce portion that cooks in 5 to 6 minutes; Ferrara Pronto Polenta, a precooked yellow polenta that is a best buy at 32 ounces for $2.99; and Gran Polenta Express, 16 ounces and also $2.99.

Sometimes Siena gets a non-instant brand called Viva, which is produced in France and sells for $2.99 for a 16-ounce portion. Lando swears by it, but she is quick to point out that, "it goes fast, and is gone within a day or two of when we get it in."

This polenta, she adds, is the best for grilling, brushed with olive oil and a little bit of coarse salt.

"For grilled polenta, we spread some out on a round wooden board, and then, when it has sufficiently dried and hardened, we cut slices from it with a silk thread," Lando says.

You'll also find the instant brand La Polenta Beretta at a nice little Italian deli and market called Roma Deli & Restaurant, at 5755 Spring Mountain Road in the Siena Plaza, and in more than one form at the two Montesano's Italian Delis, at 3441 W. Sahara Ave. and 4835 W. Craig Road. Montesano's sells a brand of instant polenta called Bellino, a good buy at $2.49 for 16 ounces.

Better yet, the store almost always has the non-instant variety in Ziploc bags that staff packages themselves, one full pound for only $1.

Meanwhile at La Scala restaurant on East Desert Inn Road, Chef Roberto Perotti, who hails from the Piedmont region of Italy, prepares a variety of polenta dishes, which he varies daily.

One of Perotti's dishes is pre-boiled polenta done in a covered dish in the oven, topped with bolognese sauce and cheese, called pasticciata. Top it with a gooey cheese such as fontina or gorgonzola, and it is concia.

Another way Perotti likes to serve polenta is in hot slices in a cereal bowl, covered with fresh whole milk and served lukewarm.

"This is called polenta e latte," the chef reminisces, "and it was my grandmother's favorite dish."

The amount of liquid used during cooking will determine how soft or how stiff the polenta will be. Vary to taste, and note that polenta thickens as it cools.

Because polenta can splatter when being stirred, remember to be careful when cooking it, as the burns can be nasty. In terms of the instant/non-instant controversy, better settle that in your own kitchen.

Whichever form you choose, you'll find polenta a delicious, filling and versatile side dish, for almost anything you cook.

For a creative home cook, the possibilities seem limitless.