Soft Oven Polenta

ClareVH's Note:

Comfort Food! Most polenta recipes (at least the ones I've seen) call for stove-top cooking and a lot of stirring. This recipe gives excellent results without all that. This recipe was adapted from one in the L.A. Times. Give credit to their Test-kitchen staff.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (32 ounce) container vegetable broth or 1 (32 ounce) container chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup cheese, any type,shredded or crumbled (I prefer Bleu)
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley (for serving) (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
2. Spray a 2-quart oven-proof casserole with non-stick spray.
3. Combine broth, salt, cornmeal and butter in the casserole and stir well.
4. Bake for 40 minutes.
5. remove from oven and add shredded cheese; stir well.
6. Return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes.
7. Remove from oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
8. Garnish with parsley to serve as a side dish, or use instead of pasta with sauces.
9. *Note1: refrigerated leftovers will firm up, and can be fried like mush.
10. *Note2: According to the original instructions, if you double the recipe, you must double the cooking time too.

Reviews

[Retro Kali]

Fantastic! I have never made polenta, just bought it in tubes. I have also never eaten it soft out of the oven, I usually fry it. This was easy, and I ate it soft and loved it that way.
I didn't have chicken stock, so I added a bouillion cube to some water, and it turned out great. An excellent side dish!
Update- this has gone into our regular rotation as a side dish. I have made it many many times. The consistency can be adjusted according to how much liquid is added, and if you make it firm, you can slice it and fry it the next day. YUM. I also add sharp cheddar or another strongly flavored cheese and it makes it better.

[Veggie_Girl]

Fantastic polenta. A little on the salty side, but I did use a full strength vegetable broth - I will cut with water, as suggested by others, next time. I also spiced it up a bit with garlic, basil, pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Added in an italian blend of cheese and I'm done. Delicious - thanks for the staple recipe!! I'm looking forward to letting it firm up and grilling etc.

[Motivated Mama]

This was my first time making polenta...pretty good! I took the advice of others and only used 1/2 the broth but next time I will use the full amount and probably more seasoning too. Thanks for posting. This was a nice change from the usual grain.