corn

All the recipes in this section are the result of experience, creativity and... word of mouth by Eleonora Berto, a daily presence at the “El Tamiso” store under the Salone in Padua. The ingredients are all from organic farming and the doses are approximately for four people.

POLENTA

INGREDIENTS: 1 thick-bottomed pot, 1 liter of water, 1 tablespoon of coarse-grained salt, 250 grams of stone-ground wholemeal corn flour.

PROCEDURE: boil the water with the salt, move the pot from the heat, with the whisk “lower” the cornmeal a little at a time, stirring constantly, lower the heat to a minimum and cook the polenta with a covered pot for 40 minutes.

for the creamy polenta: serve it immediately!

for “hard” polenta: pour it into a baking dish and let it cool

on a wooden cutting board: 1 liter of boiling salted water, 300 g stone-ground corn flour. The cooking should be done in an uncovered pot and stirring frequently, after 40 minutes pour the polenta onto the cutting board.

FRIED POLENTA

INGREDIENTS: a pan, 4 finger-thick slices of polenta, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, chopped mixed aromatic herbs, two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, salt, a crushed clove of garlic.

PROCEDURE: heat the oil in the pan and put the garlic clove to brown, remove the garlic and add the chopped aromas (rosemary, sage, oregano, etc.), divide each slice of polenta in half and put it in the pan over the aromas, turn the polenta without breaking it a couple of times and add the salt, season with the parmesan and serve it hot.

POLENTA PIE

INGREDIENTS: ½ kg. carrots, ½ celery, 2 onions, ½ kg. Tomato sauce.

PROCEDURE: cut the vegetables into cubes and sauté them in a pan with n. 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, add the tomato puree and cook for 10 minutes, grease a baking dish with oil, roll out a first layer of thinly cut polenta slices, pour a few spoonfuls of meat sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and smoked ricotta and taste; form another layer of polenta slices and season with ragù and cheese. Bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees) for 20 minutes.

ALTERNATIVE instead of the meat sauce proposed above, other vegetables can be used, for example: leeks and radicchio, artichokes and sbrise, leeks and pumpkin, eggplant and cherry, zucchini and shallots

TYPICAL VENETIAN DESSERT: SMEJASSA

INGREDIENTS: ½ liter water, ½ liter of whole milk, 100 g stone-ground corn flour, 100 g stone-ground soft wheat flour, 60 g raw cane sugar, 40 g wild flower or acacia honey, 50 raisins, 50 dried figs, 1 tablespoon fennel or anise seeds, 2 tablespoons of grappa, a pinch of salt, a knob of butter.

PROCEDURE: in a pan, boil the milk and water together, turn off the heat and pour in the cornmeal while stirring with a whisk, wait 10 minutes for the “polenta” to cool and add all the other ingredients, working vigorously to obtain a homogeneous dough, grease the cake pan with butter and sprinkle it with corn flour, pour in the dough, cook the cake in a preheated oven: 160° for 40 minutes, serve it warm or cold accompanied with eggnog cream and vin santo!