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Creamy Polenta Concia Recipe
Authentic Creamy Italian Polenta or Polenta Concia is one of the traditional polenta recipes from northern Italy."Concia" in the dialect of these Italian mountain areas means "fat-greasy". The peculiarity of this recipe is in fact the addition of plenty of cheese and butter to the basic polenta recipe.Typical of the Italian "cucina povera", creamy polenta was in fact the main meal of farmers and shepherds for its low cost and its high satiating and energetic power.
Ingredients
- 400 g polenta - 2 ½ cups – Packages labeled “polenta” mean that the grind of the corn is appropriate to make the polenta dish. You can even substitute it with coarsely-ground cornmeal.
- 2 liters water - 8 ½ cups
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 300 g Cheese - 10 oz of Fontina
- 100 g butter - ~1 stick, unsulted
- 80 g Parmigiano cheese - ⅔ cup, grated
- black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- To make creamy Italian polenta (or Polenta Concia, as we call this recipe in Italy), start by preparing the Fontina cheese. Carefully remove the rind from the cheese and then cut the Fontina into cubes. Set aside along with half of the butter.
- Put the polenta pot (paiolo) or a thick-bottomed, high-sided pot, on the stove. Pour in the water. When it begins to boil, add the coarse salt.
- Finally pour in the corn flour a little at a time. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or a hand whisk, so that no lumps form. The TRICK is to pour slowly while stirring quickly!
- Keep cooking for about 30 minutes over low heat without stopping stirring. Be careful not to let the polenta stick to the bottom of the pot.
- When there are about 10 minutes left in the cooking time, add the butter and cheese pieces to the polenta. Stir constantly until the polenta is cooked and the cheeses and butter inside are melted.
- Pour the very hot Polenta concia immediately into soup plates or large pasta bowls. They allow the creamy polenta to stay hot longer.
- With the back of a spoon, make a small hollow in the center of the hot polenta. Place a small piece of butter. It will melt immediately. Then season with ground black pepper and a little grated Parmigiano cheese.
Nutrition
Serving: 100gCalories: 869kcalCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 35gFat: 45gSaturated Fat: 28gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 2626mgPotassium: 162mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 995IUCalcium: 797mgIron: 1mg
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