Polenta Concia
Soft polenta layered with butter and Fontina or toma cheese until stringy, cooked for 40 minutes and served from the pot.
Photograph credit: Polenta "uncia" servita al rifugio del Monte Palanzone "Rifugio Riella" (Como) -… by Mænsard vokser · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Don't Make These Mistakes
Pour in a thin stream and whisk to avoid lumps.
Add the cheese in stages.
Serve at once, as the polenta sets as it cools.
Making Polenta Concia
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Bring the water and salt to the boil in a heavy pan.
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Pour in the polenta in a thin stream, whisking, then turn the heat low.
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Cook for 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes, adding boiling water if it gets too thick.
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Stir in the butter, then the Fontina and Parmesan a handful at a time until melted. Season with the pepper and taste for salt.
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Why It Works
Maize meal, water, butter, cheese: four things you already know, and about forty minutes. Polenta concia is the Piedmont version of polenta, enriched with so much butter and cheese that it turns into a kind of fondue.
Use coarse polenta, not instant, and pour it into boiling salted water in a thin stream, whisking all the time. Turn the heat low and stir every few minutes for 40 minutes. The polenta is ready when it comes away from the side of the pan and has no grit. Add boiling water if it gets thick.
Stir in the butter and the cheese in layers, a handful at a time, so each melts before the next goes in. Use a melting cheese such as Fontina, toma or young Gruyère. Taste for salt only after the cheese, which is salty. Eat it hot from the pot, with a spoon, before it sets. A pan of browned butter with sage spooned on top is traditional.
After You've Cooked It
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Slice and fry the cold polenta.
Good With
- Braised beef
- Sausages
- Mushrooms
- Red wine
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Rosemary Focaccia, Tuscan Panzanella, Ciabatta.
Polenta Concia Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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