How the buggery do I cook polenta without it tasting like wallpaper paste?

[LadyMaryQuiteContrary]

Stupid me went into Carluccio's to buy some bread and came out with a packet of this as well. It's quick cook stuff but we've eaten it before (thanks Jamie Oliver) and it was vile. I never learn!

dont , it does taste like walpaper paste.
chuck, in the bin or feed to ducks

Hmm, the crunchy roast potato idea sounds quite good.

Or you could always be really brave and take it back as good excuse to hear the sexy Italian waiter again

Roast potatoes sound lurvely. It's only a 500g bag, I may need some more and I ate all of the bread

I'm determined to make it tasty.

Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the word 'cake' or 'muffin' is included in the recipe title that it will be nice.

We had polenta in a savoury, veggie dish and it was shit. To use up the rest we found a Polenta muffin recipe and......they were foul. Even the DC wouldn't eat them.

We put the leftovers in the freezer ( leftover muffins are unheard of normally!), ignored them for about a year and then binned them.

Bugger! I wil find something tasty to make with this. People must buy it and like it, they wouldn't import it otherwise lives in denial

I always grill polenta (brushed with olive oil). When it's just cooked it's a sloppy mess.

Or lemon polenta cake is good.

Cynics!
Nigella's lemon polenta cake is scrummy.

Nigella ads all sorts of expensive stuff to her food. Dare I look??

Cheap chick here, nothing in there I didn't get in Lidls

There's a Lidl down the (very long) road. What do they sell? Anything tasty?

Far too much loveliness for my waistline! But more importantly, the rest of the ingredients for Nigella's cake (can't remember if they sell polenta though).

Lidl is really good for things like jars of antipasti (sundried tomatoes, posh mushrooms in oil etc) that go really well with grilled polenta. Also some cheese. I'm veggie, so I wouldn't really know, but my parents (usually Waitrose shoppers) swear by some of the Lidl smoked salmon and salami-type stuff. And the wine.

Oh, and I'm not sure if Lidl does it, but if you want cheap polenta, go to the world food aisle at Tesco and look for Jamaican cornmeal. It is basically the same thing.

Chuck it out and have mashed potatoes instead.

She puts ground almonds in it.

I have some jars of sundried tomatoes. I may take a trip for some wine though. I don't like Tesco. It's the principle of it they are taking over the world

No, no mash. The potatoes are sprouting.

I like their biscuits and chocolate - interesting things like chocolate coated gingerbread, and good quality choc with nuts
Veg always good too, and ours has just opened a little on-site bakery too - great for choc croissants and such like
Still think a Carluccio's could add a touch of class though !

Place was empty apart from the hot waiter

I cook it with chicken stock, parmesan cheese and quite a lot of chili flakes. Then chill to set, cut into cubes. Toss cubes in olive oil and grated parmesan and roast or fry until crispy on all sides.

The cubes make great bases for appetizers, go well with goat cheese & prosciutto & a grape tomato/olives/artichokes, etc.

LadyMary I think the stir frying was my own invention, did you find anything googling it? Cubes of polenta, small broccoli florets, quorn (I suppose you could substitute chicken), lemon rind and garlic, I think I use sesame oil, then a bit of stock and lemon juice then a bit more stir frying.

My simplified version of Nigella's lemon polenta cake:

For the cake:
200g sugar
200g ground almonds
100g polenta
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
200ml light and mild olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
3 medium eggs
2 medium lemons (zest - save juice for syrup)

For the syrup (optional):
2 lemons
125g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180g, grease a cake tin if not using a silicone pan. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl then in a separate bowl or jug, beat the eggs and add the olive oil, beat together. Pour the eggs and oil into the dry ingredients and mix to combine, add the lemon rind.

Pour into cake tin and bake for about 40 minutes.

For a truely sweet sticky cake, make the syrup by heating the icing sugar and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved then pierce cake with cocktail stick and pour over the syrup to allow it to soak in.

This cake can be sliced up when cool and frozen in pieces ready for packed lunches. It is quite sticky and crumbly with the syrup but utterly delicious, without the syrup is still worth making and easier to handle for a packed lunch.

Nigella may shop somewhere where ground almonds are sold in 200g bags but mine come in a bag of 150g so I use half ground almonds and half polenta.