Is polenta worth the effort?

[nkf]

It's cheap enough, I believe but is it easy and nice?

No. it is vile.

Although much nicer in a cake...

One vote for vile. Thank you.

Depends what you do with it. Have never used that pre-wetted version. If you cook it yourself (yes it's easy) it's quite versatile.

I like to put it in a casserole type dish in a layer (after it's been boiled) and then you put chilli beans or some kind of stew etc on top and another layer of polenta so it's like a sandwich when baked.

It's fairly neutral tasting really so depends what herbs/spices you flavour it with, or what it's served with.

No no no no no and no.

Have a look at the number of mentions it gets on the Fashionable Foods You Don't Get thread if you don't believe me.

Okay. So is it sort of like couscous. Bland starch that takes on flavours.

Its more like semolina. But yes bland is the word. And it doesn't take on many flavours ime .

it has an unpleasant gritty texture, and reminds me of eating a very tasteless oily sandwich on a windy beach.
I have eaten far more of it than i would like, as my MIL served it on the first time I met her (she is a good cook, its just the p-stuff that is vile). i almost couldn't swallow it but as I did she thought I liked it and made it often. I finally told her a year or so back that i hate it.

I do love semolina though- with jam..yum.

I season it and use it to coat chicken fillets.

Barely. It's very bland. DP makes something quite nice with it, but then it's got loads of cheese/herbs/garlic in it and then you fry it - not exactly healthy!

Actually I have thought of something it is very good for (other than lemon cake), if you coat the bottom of your pizza dough with it before baking the pizza, it gives a lovely crispy crust.

It's LOVELY, you're all mad. What you need to do is either buy the readymade kind, or get normal quick-cook and cook it then cool it in an oiled tray. Then slice it in thickish slices (about a centimetre) and fry it on both sides until crisp and a bit browned. Absolutely delicious with any kind of tomato/meat/garlic concoction. I usually serve mine with chicken in tomato/garlic/thyme/saffron sauce. Fried polenta is gorgeous. If you make your own, chuck in a bit of garlic puree, some frozen chopped spinach, grated cheese and sundried tomato puree and it's practically a whole meal in itself.

I have to try this polarising foodstuff.

I love it and no effort at all. Needs something with it though, cheese normally does the trick. Quick cook stuff does, as the name suugest, cook quick.

Am looking at Marcella Hazan recipes in between typing. She has loads.

Make the Hugh Fearnley Whatsit polenta cheesy fingers. They are yummy! I bake them in the oven rather than fry them though (lazy).

But you must never buy pre cooked polenta flour. That's what she says anyway.

Its the Hugh FW recipe that my DP cooks sometimes too - it is nice.

It's nothing like couscous: it cooks into a gelatinous gloop which solidifies. The only good thing to do with it is was Haberdashery says: slice, fry, and serve with something saucy that actually has a flavour.

But anything that needs to be cooked, then cooled, then processed and cooked AGAIN in order to be worth eating is way too much faff imo.

Couldn't even find the stuff. Is it actually called polenta?

No, its called Food Of Satan.

It's disgusting, I lived in Italy for 6 years and it's the food stuff I refuse to eat and that includes sheeps head. Vile vile vile

Isn't this the stuff cornbread is made of? That's got to be the best ever American food

But have never liked polenta in any other guise.

Hoe cakes and cornbread are staples in here - much loved by all the children. Other than that, no they don't like it much. I like it solidified, fried and then cooked in cheese sauce or tomato sauce, a bit like pasta bake.