In its purest form
“With a dab of butter and a melting cloud of Parmean” -à la Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Try: cheesy polenta
As a main
April Bloomfield stirs kale purée, Parmesan and marscapone into her. In Umbria, it’s mixed a tomato-based sauce and cannellini beans.
As porridge
Café des Artes in Franschhoek serves it with butter and honey.
Try: polenta porridge
In wedges
Allow cooled polenta to set and use as you would bruschetta
Instead of breadcrumbs
For extra-crispy roast potatoes, or as a batter for chicken or fish.
Try: Parmesan and polenta roast potatoes
For chips
Jamie Oliver does a spectacular baked version with a hot pesto dip
To bake moist cakes
Polenta adds what Nigella Lawson calls “flavoursome grittiness”.
Try: gluten-free chocolate polenta cake or citrus-and-thyme polenta bundt cake.
In pastry
Yotam Ottolenghi’s famous tarts and fruits galettes owe their crunch to his inspired addition of polenta to shortcrust pastry.
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