Polenta Cakes Food

FRIED POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a 1 to 1 1/2 quart oven-safe container, stir together water, salt, pepper, and polenta
• Add butter to the mixture, cut up in chunks.
• Place container, uncovered, in center rack of oven and bake 40 minutes.
• Open oven, pull out rack, add parmesan, and any other ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, olives, lemon zest, herbs, shallots, cilantro etc. and let bake another 10 minutes.
• Pull out of oven and let rest in refrigerator 20 minutes to over-night.
• In frying pan, on medium-high, heat oil.
• Spoon about half a cup of polenta into the pan at a time, fry until golden brown on each side.
• Let cakes rest about 3-5 minutes and serve.

POLENTA CAKES WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Over a medium-high heat in a large saucepan that allows for stirring, heat milk, cornmeal and 2 cups water. Give it an initial stir to blend ingredients, then let cook until it thickens up a bit, about 5 minutes. At this point, stir continuously so that contents thicken up without sticking to saucepan, about 10 minutes. Add the mascarpone and Parmesan. Cook, stirring, until polenta is thick enough to pour out, another 5 minutes. Pour into individual muffin pans or one big pan. Let cool at room temperature for approximately 10 minutes. Refrigerate the polenta for later use.
• When you're ready to serve the polenta: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Top the polenta cake with the Sauteed Mushrooms and shredded mozzarella, if using, and bake 5 to 8 minutes. Enjoy!
• Over a medium-high heat, heat oil in a medium frying pan. Add garlic and let brown, approximately 1 minute. Throw in mushrooms and allow to brown and cook down, stirring, approximately 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Lower heat to low and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

HARD POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine the milk, water, bay and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat and season generously with salt. Take the seasoning to the edge of too salty. To do this you MUST taste as you go. Polenta acts as a salt eraser, if you don't season abundantly here you will never recover from it.
• Once the liquid is at a boil and is seasoned appropriately, sprinkle in the polenta whisking constantly. Once the polenta is combined switch over to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until the polenta has become thick. Taste the polenta to see if it has cooked through. If it still feels mealy and grainy, add some more milk or water and cook it to a thick consistency. Repeat this process, as needed, until the polenta feels smooth on your tongue, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the chopped sage and mascarpone.
• Line a 7 by 7-inch square pan with plastic wrap. Pour the polenta into the prepared pan. Cover the top with more plastic smoothed onto the surface of the polenta. Chill in the refrigerator until needed. (All of this can totally be done ahead of time, like yesterday! Cool!)
• When ready to use, remove the polenta from the pan and cut into desired shapes. Coat a nonstick saute pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot and starting to smoke just a little, add the polenta shapes. Cook the polenta on both sides and finish by sprinkling with a little bit grated Parmigiano. Transfer to a serving platter and serve while hot.
• What a corncake!!!!

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the base of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and butter sides; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and superfine sugar until pale and fluffy.
• In a medium bowl, mix together almond meal, polenta, and baking powder. Add some of the almond meal mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and beat to combine. Add one egg and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, continue alternating adding remaining almond meal mixture and 2 eggs; mix until well combined. Add lemon zest and mix just to combine.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven; bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs and cake begins to pull away from sides of the pan, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, mix together lemon juice and confectioners' sugar; place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved; remove syrup from heat.
• Using a cake tester, prick holes all over the top of the cake; pour warm syrup over cake and let cool completely. Remove from pan and serve.

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line the bottom of a 10-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
• Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.
• In a separate bowl, combine the almond meal, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Gently fold it into the butter mixture, stirring just until combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 90 to 120 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, combine the lemon juice and superfine sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat.
• Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer or toothpick to prick holes in the cake. Pour the lemon syrup over the surface. Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely before serving.

ORANGE POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C Grease a 22cm round loose bottom cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
• Wash the orange and place it in a saucepan(do not peel the orange-leave it whole). Cover with water and weigh the orange down with a smll saucer or bowl. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the orange from the saucepan and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
• Chop the orange coarsely and discard any seeds.
• Place the orange and any of its juice into a food processor and pulse until it is finely chopped. Add the butter, sugar, flour, gum, polenta, almond meal, baking powder, egg yolks and the liquer. Pulse until just combined- do not over process.
• In a seperate bowl- whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Fold the egg whites into the orange mixture.
• pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile- combine the orange syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. The syrup will thicken slightly. Set the syrup aside until the cake is cooked.
• When you remove the cake from the oven, poke holes all over the surface and down into the cake( this allows the syrup to be absorbed better). Leave the cake in the tin.
• Pour all of the syrup over the surface of the cake and let the cake stand for at least 20 minutes, or until the syrup is absorbed into the cake.

ORANGE POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the base and sides of a round 23cm cake tin with baking parchment. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly. Once the mixture is combined, add all the dry ingredients and the zest and juice after you have measured off 100ml for the glaze.
• Transfer the mixture to the tin, spread evenly, then cook for about 45 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
• To make the glaze, put the juice and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for 5 mins, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Drizzle the orange glaze over the top of the cooled cake. Serve with Lemon ice cream, below.

HOW TO MAKE PERFECT POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan; pour polenta slowly into boiling water, whisking constantly until all polenta is stirred in and there are no lumps.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until polenta starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Polenta mixture should still be slightly loose. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, whisking every 5 to 6 minutes. When polenta is too thick to whisk, stir with a wooden spoon. Polenta is done when texture is creamy and the individual grains are tender.
• Turn off heat and gently stir 2 tablespoons butter into polenta until butter partially melts; mix 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into polenta until cheese has melted. Cover and let stand 5 minutes to thicken; stir and taste for salt before transferring to a serving bowl. Top polenta with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and about 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for garnish.