Polenta "Alla Toscana"
A historical recipe from Simple Italian Cookery, by Antonia Isola.
A historical recipe
Simple Italian Cookery, by Antonia Isola. Project Gutenberg eBook #6385.
From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.
Italy
Known as an Italian recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.
Ingredients 1 ingredient
- 3 pints of cold water Put
Cook safely
Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.
- Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
- Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.
Method
Chef Wood
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- 2 cups of Indian meal 3 pints of cold water Put the water on, and when it boils add salt.
- Then add the Indian meal, little by little, stirring all the time.
- Allow it to boil over a moderate fire for one-half hour, stirring constantly.
- When the meal has become quite stiff, take a wooden spoon and dip it into hot water, and with it detach the Indian meal from the side of the saucepan, then hold the saucepan for a moment over the hottest part of the fire, until the Indian meal has become detached from the bottom.
- Then turn it out onto the bread-board;
- it should come out whole in a mold.
- Let it stand a few moments to cool.
- Then with a wire cut it into slices about the thickness of a finger.
- Place these slices on a hot platter in a layer;
- pour over them a good meat gravy and grated cheese;
- then put on another layer of the polenta, and add more gravy and cheese, and so on, until your polenta is used up.
Plating
Cookware for this recipe
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Saucepan
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Chef's knife
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Grater
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Wooden spoon
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Spatula