Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!
I was so happy when I read this month’s challenge! The reason is simple: I was born and grew up in Milano, a place famous for polenta (like other areas in Northern Italy). That said, you all know that my family is Sicilian… so polenta was not a staple in my house, even though we did eat it occasionally. The thing is, I love it. In any shape and in any form. I love it with pork ragu’ or cassoeula – a dish I will have to make soon – or on its own. As you can guess though, I don’t make it often either, which is a shame. So I thought of rolling my sleeves up and, for the first time in my life, making a dish that is very typical of the region I grew up in (Lombardia) and that I have always eaten at restaurants but never made at home. Today I am going back to my roots and I am taking you all with me! I am going to show you how to make Polenta Concia, which is a dish made with polenta and cheese. There are many kinds of Polenta Concia in Italy and each area, mainly on or near the Alps, uses the cheese they produce. My recipe uses mainly Gorgonzola, a cheese typical of Lombardia (and my all time favourite), so I am also tagging this post as part of my Regional Italian dishes for Lombardia. Enjoy!
Thank you so much Rachael for such a fantastic challenge!!!
Ingredients (for 4 or 5 people):
450 gms – 15 oz. polenta (I used the instant polenta)
1.8 lt – 7.5 cups water
300 gms – 10.5 oz. gorgonzola, cut in pieces
150 gms – 5.25 oz. fontina or fontal cheese, sliced
60 gms – 2 oz. butter, sliced
30 gms – 1 oz. butter, melted
70 gms – 2.5 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano, thinly grated
1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to cook the polenta
Salt to taste
NOTE: I forgot to add Fontina to the above picture, but I did use it!
Cook the polenta as per the instructions on the package. I boiled the water with extra virgin olive oil and salt and added the polenta to it. It was ready in 3 minutes. Put the 60 gms – 2 oz. of butter in it and stir until melted.
Grease an oven proof dish (or 4 individual dishes) and, when the polenta is cooked, put half of it at the bottom of the dish. Spread well. Add half the Gorgonzola, half the Fontina and half the Parmigiano Reggiano. Cover with the remaining polenta and top with the rest of the cheese and the melted butter.
Bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180°C – 355°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve warm!
Polenta Concia
Ingredients
- 450 gms – 15 oz. polenta I used the instant polenta
- 1.8 lt – 7.5 cups water
- 300 gms – 10.5 oz. gorgonzola cut in pieces
- 150 gms – 5.25 oz. fontina or fontal cheese sliced
- 60 gms – 2 oz. butter sliced
- 30 gms – 1 oz. butter melted
- 70 gms – 2.5 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano thinly grated
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to cook the polenta
- Salt to taste
Instructions
-
Cook the polenta as per the instructions on the package. I boiled the water with extra virgin olive oil and salt and added the polenta to it. It was ready in 3 minutes. Put the 60 gms – 2 oz. of butter in it and stir until melted.
-
Grease an oven proof dish (or 4 individual dishes) and, when the polenta is cooked, put half of it at the bottom of the dish. Spread well. Add half the Gorgonzola, half the Fontina and half the Parmigiano Reggiano. Cover with the remaining polenta and top with the rest of the cheese and the melted butter.
-
Bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180°C – 355°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
-
Serve warm!
And enjoy!
I tried it!!!!! Just today for lunch but with different cheese because my mom is not a big fan of cheese… actually it´s fair to say she is 100% anti-cheese person! Anyway, LOVED it!!! Yummy yummy in my tummy!… also had a bit of toasted polenta with fried salami!!
YAY!!! So glad you liked it! And the toasted polenta sounds great too… I sometimes fry it… yum!!! 🙂
I have always used the ready-made polenta in the large plastic tube. You make this look so easy, I’m going to give it a try!
Whoa, that looks so incredible. Got to try it. I’ve made polenta lots of times, but this version is coming up, soon.
My family, including me of course, loves polenta, and cooked in the oven with cheese is our favorite. I never try with gorgonzola, but sounds terrific, so nexy time I will add it.
I love polenta…and you made this dish amazingly delicious Manu! Great recipe and mouthwatering pictures!!!!
I think I’ve pinned most of your blog LOL This polenta is no exception – it looks and sounds unbelievable!
Well, trust me to be different again !! I LOVE polenta, but never cook it unless I have time for ‘the whole bit’: what I first learned, take it from the very beginning and stir, stir, stir! To me the process is almost therapeutic, standing at the stove meditating! And the more love I can put into the dish: the better it seems to taste?
Polenta, butter and cheese – I don’t think that combination can be beat! This looks just so gooey, cheesy and wonderful! BTW – I know you love spicy chile so you might want to check out my DCC recipe. 🙂
There is absolutely nothing not to love in this dish. I love that last ooey gooey cheesey photo.
that looks really good. I also tried to make polenta concia, it’s not exactly the same as what you did (actually your pics on the forum were my inspiration), but it’s close and tasted very nice, i am sure I’ll try it again, and then maybe your variant!
Yum, this looks just fantastic! Definitely on my to-cook list! 🙂
Your polenta looks so good. I love that cheese topping.
You made this look great. I like cornmeal but do not seem to have many guests who do. If it looked like this, I think they would change their mind.
I also love polenta and we eat it often, both in it’s softer form as a base for a ragu or similar or in a more firm version so it can be shaped for something a little more sophisticated. I lived in Torino when I was in Italy – not far from your home town. The Duomo there is one of my favourite buildings in the world.
cheesy polenta is a favorite around here. Your’s looks fabulous!
Manu I saw your pictures on the forum and my only thought was …I wish I had a spoon and could dive into one of those amazing plates!
Bookmarked to try real real soon
This looks yummy! I cannot wait to try this.
Non conoscevo la Polenta Concia, in casa mia sempre la facevamo col merluzzo, la tua mi é piaciuto moltissimo, avrai qualsiasi ricetta della reggione Veneta come qualche variante del rissotto.
Saluti.
Ciao Diego! Che buona la polenta col merluzzo! 🙂 Ho qualche ricetta di risotto sul sito… trovi tutte le foto delle mie ricette nel mio Visual Archive: http://www.manusmenu.com/recipes/visual-archive Fammi sapere! Buona giornata! 🙂
Can this dish be made earlier in the day? If so, how many hours ahead? Will the texture of the polenta change?
Thanks for help.
Hi Liza! Yes, it can be made in advance… you can even prepare it the night before and then bake it at lunch. The polenta may harden a bit, but it will soften again when you bake it (though it will not be as creamy as when you first made it). The taste will be 100% the same. Hope it helps! 🙂
Made this last night. It was fabulous!
Yeah!! I am so glad you liked it! It is one of my favourite recipes for polenta! 🙂
I adore polenta and cheese and this looks like heaven in a bowl! Making it this weekend and will eat it snuggled in a blanket in front of the fire. 🙂
I remember helping my grand mother making this as my grandparents were from Dorio (Northern Italy). She would foam butter with a great deal of garlic then layer in a very large tan bowl, the polenta, Teleme cheese (very soft Monterey cheese), then a spoonful of the butter/garlic, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and continue in this manner until all ingredients were used….Place the bowl in the oven (wood stove) to let it all melt together As a matter of fact she would also do the same thing with cooked rice.