I have not had Polenta before. I recently saw it being cooked on TV and it really sounded good. So when I saw a bag for just over $2 at the local grocery store, I couldn’t resist. I had to try it. It is simply ground corn. The only ingredient is corn!
I used the following recipe (in half) and made 4 servings. Each serving is 130 calories (without butter).
Basic Italian Polenta Recipe (from the back of the Bob’s Red Mill
Ingredients
- 3 cups of water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup of polenta
- 1 T butter
Directions
Boil 3 cups of water and 1 tsp. salt in a deep pan. Stir in 1 cup of polenta slowly and turn down heat to simmer. Stir frequently for about 30 minutes so it does not burn or stick. Add butter if desired. Once it thickens, remove and place in a well oiled bowl. Set for 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate, the polenta will retain its shape. Slice and serve with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.
My reaction: Stirring this long was tedious. I took it off the heat about 8 minutes early. {I am a little impatient like that.} Since I had no previous experience with making this dish, I didn’t know how thick it should be. I did not have parmesan but used mozzarella instead. {It worked.}
The polenta virtually had no flavor. So I mostly tasted marinara and cheese. Next time, I will look for recipes to add more seasonings to the water and polenta while it is cooking. The serving size was quite large for only 130 calories. I like that. I served it with 1 cup of steamed broccoli.
Toddler reaction? The Princess did not like it. I think it was the texture. I could not have been the taste. It tasted great. But I will give her credit. She always tries one bite of things. I don’t make her eat things. I don’t know? Maybe I should start making her eat what I cook.
What do you all think? Do you make your kids eat the food you cook?
