I don’t remember the first time I tasted polenta, but I can count several of the ways I’ve loved it. I’ve plunged my spoon into chef Scott Conant’s creamy, velvety version overlaid with a silky fricassée of truffled mushrooms. I’ve slid the side of my fork into a softened block of gorgonzola piccante — the aged version of the famous blue cheese — to lop off a slab as it melts into the mushy, yellow polenta that smothers it. I’ve picked crispy triangles out of the fritto misto at Vecio Fritolin in Venice and I’ve swirled schie (the tiny shrimp that swim in the Venetian Lagoon) around a plush bed of white polenta at the Gritti Palace. I’ve wolfed down a plateful topped with sausage links doused in red sauce for lunch during a Valle d’Aosta ski trip.
While these dishes have never failed to elicit my euphoric sighs of satisfaction, my heart actually belongs to polenta taragna, a recipe found in and around Northern Lombardy that combines corn and buckwheat flours. It was love at first bite when I put away a bowlful of this speckled, nutty, earthy polenta topped with a hunk of gannasino (braised beef cheeks) after a hike to Rifugio Prabello, an Italian mountain lodge perched at an altitude of just under 4,000 feet in the hills surrounding Lake Como.
Speaking of Lake Como (aka Lario), I have this particular sprawling body of water to thank for my current obsession: polenta uncia, or “greasy polenta” – a staple of la cucina Lariana (Lario-style cooking). Lario plays host to dozens of crotti: mountain caves turned rustic trattorias nestled into the rocky hills on the lake's northwest side. These centuries-old crotti display sweeping panoramas of the lake and the leafy hills that drop sharply into its coastline. During one of September's last alfresco-appropriate weekends, I had lunch at Crotto Isidoro. The main event of this oh-so Larian dining experience was a steaming terracotta bowl of polenta uncia: polenta taragna topped with melted semuda, a local cow’s milk cheese, and a brown butter drizzle flecked with sage and garlic.
Lake Como view from Crotto Isidoro
Yes, it sounds wintry, but when it comes to polenta uncia, I refuse to be a season snob. It’s decadent, indulgent, rich, creamy, hearty, comfy, and ever so satiating, and I’m down for a bowlful any time of the year.
I put together this recipe based on my lunch at Crotto Isidoro and the general guidelines for polenta taragna (⅔ buckwheat flour, ⅓ corn flour). I substituted the elusive semuda (it's hard to find in Milan!) with fontina, a semi-soft mild cheese from Valle d’Aosta.
As for the cookware, I treated myself to a Pentole Agnelli copper paiolo — a pot with small base that widens upward, designed specifically for making polenta — so that I could proudly stir my own in the most “Italian” way possible. Cast-iron pots also work well, but if you don’t have one, just use your heaviest pan.
I included precise measurements for the flours, but it’s up to you to decide how much sage and garlic you want to add. Also, chop the garlic and cheese before you start cooking, and have the butter handy as well, so you don’t have to leave the polenta unattended for too long when the time comes to brown the butter. For the hour of non-stop stirring, I suggest listening to a podcast.
Polenta Uncia at Crotto Isidoro
Classic polenta uncia by Jaclyn DeGiorgio
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
⅔ cup buckwheat flour (95 grams)
⅓ cup corn flour (45 grams)
4 cups water
1 stick of butter
fontina cheese, thinly sliced
sage
garlic cloves, sliced
salt
Method:
Fill the heaviest saucepan you have with 4 cups of water. Add salt and 3 Tbsp. butter. Bring the water to a boil.
Add the buckwheat flour and corn flour, lower the heat, and whisk vigorously to keep any lumps from forming. Once the mixture is uniform, switch to stirring with a wooden spoon.
Continue stirring over low heat for 45 minutes to one hour. The polenta should become smooth and start to peel off the side of the pan once it’s ready. Also, when you taste it, the grains should taste cooked. Around 10 minutes before the polenta is done, brown ½ stick butter in a sauté pan over low heat; add the garlic and sage leaves once it melts.
At the end of cooking, add around 1Tbsp. butter to the polenta and mix until melted. Distribute into serving bowls, top with slices of fontina cheese. Then spoon some of the brown butter, garlic, and sage on top.
Jaclyn's Polenta Uncia