In Italy, there are infinite ways to make polenta, and here's a look at three – the Valtellina polenta taragna, Como’s polenta concia and the Marche’s polenta carbonara.
Corn and buckwheat? An unbeatable couple in polenta taragna
Before the discovery of the Americas and their bountiful corn crops, polenta prepared throughout Italy with spelt, rye, barley, or buckwheat flour. In Northern Lombardy, locals have upheld the tradition with polenta taragna, which mixes corn and buckwheat flours. Unlike corn, the latter isn't technically a grain so it doesn't contain gluten. Due to the buckwheat, polenta taragna has a darker color, and it’s often enriched with cheese while cooking.
Polenta Taragna: the recipe
Pre-cooked, ready-in-no-time mixtures aren’t hard to find on the shelves of supermarkets. But the real secret of a delicious polenta taragna is in the prolonged cooking and the quality of the flours used.
To make enough for six people, use a pot, preferably made of copper, and bring four quarts of salted water to a boil. Then pour in 2 pounds of a mixture comprising about two-thirds buckwheat and one-third cornmeal. The mixture must be poured in slowly and mixed with a whisk to prevent any lumps from forming. Once the mixture begins to have a certain consistency, switch to a wooden spoon and continue stirring, always in the same direction. After an hour or so over medium heat, a crust will form on the bottom and on the walls. It’s then time to add the other two ingredients. First 1 1/3 cups of butter, cut into small pieces. After about five minutes, when it is almost completely done cooking, add about 20 ounces of Casera cheese in chunks, also typical of Valtellina. Remove the polenta taragna from the heat before it has completely melted, and pour it onto a wooden cutting board. The perfect polenta taragna is obviously served piping hot as a main dish, accompanied by salami or sausage and, of course, a nice glass of red wine.
Polenta concia
Also known as ‘vüncia’ or ‘uncia,’ traditional polenta concia is a rich and flavorful dish. Polenta concia is seasoned with cheese – and other ingredients, varying from region to region – at the end of cooking. In the Como area, it is mixed with fried butter, garlic, sage and semi-fat cheese. In the Valle d'Aosta and Biella areas – where this is one of the most common recipes for polenta – it’s enriched simply with melted cheese, butter and/or milk, for a rather creamy dish. The difference in these two areas of Italy is made by the butter: in Val d'Aosta, it’s added to polenta with cheese at the end of cooking; in the Biella area, the melted butter is added to every diner’s plate. Also in Piacenza and its surrounding areas, polenta concia is a customary dish, but here it’s made with thin layers of polenta alternating with sauce and Grana Padano cheese.
Polenta Concia: the recipe
Ingredients (serves 2-4)
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.
Polenta recipes from outside of Northern Italy
Even in the Marche, a region which usually doesn’t define itself as what we call "polentona" in Italian, has its own way of preparing this ingredient: the polenta carbonara. It was the typical dish of woodcutters and charcoal burners in the mountain areas of Catria and Nerone, and it’s made by seasoning polenta with pork meat, guanciale and grated cheese.
Polenta Carbonara: the recipe
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 cup yellow polenta flour
1 quart water
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
6 slices guanciale
3 oz. grated pecorino cheese
milk
salt
pepper
Method
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil, salt it and cook the polenta flour in it for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Brown the guanciale slices in a frying pan for 3-4 minutes, until crispy.
Mix the eggs and yolks with 2 tablespoons of milk and 80g of grated pecorino cheese; stir the mixture into the polenta and cook over a very low flame for a couple of minutes.
Serve the polenta with the crispy guanciale, pecorino cheese shavings and ground pepper.
To remove the polenta residue from the pot more easily, immediately after cooking, fill it with water and bring it to the fire: as it boils, the crust will come off the bottom.
There is also the Trentino version, which always combines pork (in this case a sauce of fresh salami and onion) with polenta.