Polenta
Polenta is traditionally made of corn flour boiled in water with a little bit of salt in a round cast-iron kettle. Along the centuries, in the countryside, it often replaced bread being cut into pieces like a loaf. When it is served as a side dish, it is softer as a mush.
Ștefan Baciu, 12.02.2017, 14:22
Polenta is traditionally made of corn flour boiled in water with a little bit of salt in a round cast-iron kettle. Along the centuries, in the countryside, it often replaced bread being cut into pieces like a loaf. When it is served as a side dish, it is softer as a mush.
You can serve polenta with eggs. Cook polenta with half a kilo of corn flour. Crush 4 hard-boiled eggs and mix them with a little bit of butter. Put half of the paste in a buttered pot, then cover it with a layer of polenta and the remaining paste. Keep the pot in the oven for about a quarter of an hour. Then serve the dish with a bit of sour cream on it.
Another traditional Romanian dish is polenta with pork cracklings, eggs and greens. Make polenta neither hard nor soft and put it in a bowl and let it cool. Then make an omelet with a few pork cracklings, a bit of chopped onion or green onion. Add salt and pepper to taste and fry the mix on both sides. Serve a piece of omelet on a slice of polenta.
You can also eat polenta with sausages. Make polenta neither hard nor soft. Put a layer of polenta in a buttered pan, then a few fried sausages, another thin layer of polenta, a few more sausages and finally a layer of polenta. Grate some sheep milk cheese or hard cheese on the last layer of polenta and serve it hot with pickles or pickled cucumbers.
In some parts of the country people use polenta to make dumplings filled with plums, meat or rice. In other parts of the country they make the dish known as “bot”, made from roasted polenta and cheese.
Another way to cook polenta is to layer and oven-bake it. This popular dish is known as “topci”. First, the polenta is prepared using milk and butter. Then, layers of polenta are placed on top of each other, with layers of cheese and sliced sausages between them. The entire composition is then placed in the oven and left to cook. The dish is best served alongside a glass of plum brandy and wine. Enjoy!
