Or I guess you can call it Italian Grits.
Polenta is a Northern Italian staple. It used to be called a peasant food because it was inexpensive. I know I ate my share of it at Grannys when I was young and have started eating it again. The Dr. said I should be eating more from the Mediterranean Diet for healthy heart, well I did but I'm still eating everything else too. :roll: Anyway, I think it can be used as a camping food since all you need to carry is a bag of cornmeal. Would be a good dinner since it is hot and very filling.
About 4 cups of water(you can substitute half water and chicken broth for added flavor).
1 cup of cornmeal
1 tsp of salt.
In a heavy saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to boil, mix the remaining cup of water with the cornmeal and salt. Add this to the boiling water slowly while stirring. Stir and cook until it returns to boil than reduce heat to low heat. Stir and cook for about 20 minutes or until it is thick and smooth.
Spoon it into bowls or a pie pan. Now you can top it with tomato sauce and grated cheese. You can also get creative and top it with whatever you want, Kahunas peppers onions and garlic, or sausage and mushrooms. Maybe just some good olive oil and grated cheese.
If you have some leftover from the pie pan that you havn't added a topping to, you can save it for morning and fry it for breakfast and throw on a dab of butter. I have even had it grilled topped with grilled peppers onion and mushrooms. I also like sprinkling ground hot pepper on mine.
Polenta is cheap, filling and good. When you top it with tomato sauce and grated cheese and maybe some thin sliced pepperoni, may I suggest a nice bottle Chianti, Montepulciano d' Abruzzo or hell even Merlot would work. :wink: Great on a cool night in camp!
(They also have an instant polenta that's easy to prepare, you can get a box at an Italian store) "Boun Appetito!" "Alla Salute"
Polenta is a Northern Italian staple. It used to be called a peasant food because it was inexpensive. I know I ate my share of it at Grannys when I was young and have started eating it again. The Dr. said I should be eating more from the Mediterranean Diet for healthy heart, well I did but I'm still eating everything else too. :roll: Anyway, I think it can be used as a camping food since all you need to carry is a bag of cornmeal. Would be a good dinner since it is hot and very filling.
About 4 cups of water(you can substitute half water and chicken broth for added flavor).
1 cup of cornmeal
1 tsp of salt.
In a heavy saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to boil, mix the remaining cup of water with the cornmeal and salt. Add this to the boiling water slowly while stirring. Stir and cook until it returns to boil than reduce heat to low heat. Stir and cook for about 20 minutes or until it is thick and smooth.
Spoon it into bowls or a pie pan. Now you can top it with tomato sauce and grated cheese. You can also get creative and top it with whatever you want, Kahunas peppers onions and garlic, or sausage and mushrooms. Maybe just some good olive oil and grated cheese.
If you have some leftover from the pie pan that you havn't added a topping to, you can save it for morning and fry it for breakfast and throw on a dab of butter. I have even had it grilled topped with grilled peppers onion and mushrooms. I also like sprinkling ground hot pepper on mine.
Polenta is cheap, filling and good. When you top it with tomato sauce and grated cheese and maybe some thin sliced pepperoni, may I suggest a nice bottle Chianti, Montepulciano d' Abruzzo or hell even Merlot would work. :wink: Great on a cool night in camp!
(They also have an instant polenta that's easy to prepare, you can get a box at an Italian store) "Boun Appetito!" "Alla Salute"
