Posted By Mary Freeland on August 11, 2010

An artist must have their canvas. Be that tanned leather stretched across a frame or the ceiling of a small chapel, the avenue for any great work of art it built upon a foundation. In Italian cuisine one may be inclined to think of pasta as a canvas. They wouldn’t be wrong in that but pasta is not the only game in town. Consider the versatility of the noble Polenta.

Polenta has often been dubbed the “grits” of Italia. That isn’t too far off the mark considering that the dish is essentially boiled corn meal. What that name stops short of portraying is the multitude of use there is for the dish.

For example in Rome, polenta is cut into disks, baked and served much the way that ravioli is. On a trip to Florence I once enjoyed a deep fried polenta stick dipped in honey and coated in pistachio, reminding me fondly of days spent on the shores of San Tornini in Greece enjoying baklava.

The Tuscans bring their own flair to this canvas of culinary imagination turning it from a mere meal into a celebration. Large tables are set and layered with newspaper which is then covered in parchments. Guests gather around the table and delight as the cook pours warm polenta out like Jackson Pollak on a studio floor. Set around the stage are a vegetable cornucopia of toppings; sun dried tomatoes, shaved parmensan, grilled seasonal vegetables, roasted chicken and even the prized portcini harvest. Each chooses their favorites, tops their section of the pool of polenta and enjoys this straight from the table. It’s family style taken to the extreme and a conversation starter in itself.

As we here in the United States see our summer coming to a close and anticipate the arrival of cooler evenings outdoors, may we suggest you have your own Polenta Party and let your guests paint their own pictures.

Categories: Italian Recipes
Tags: Italian, Italian Recipes