Oven Soft Polenta Recipes

EASY OVEN-BAKED REAL POLENTA (NOT INSTANT)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Pour water into the prepared dish; stir in polenta and salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until polenta is thickened, about 40 minutes. Stir in squash, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Continue baking until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

OVEN-BAKED CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In an ovenproof saucepan with a lid, whisk together 3 cups water, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Cover, and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Remove from oven, and add milk, butter, and marjoram; whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.

SOFT POLENTA

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, combine the stock and cream, and bring to a boil. Add the nutmeg and salt. Whisk in the polenta and semolina and cook over low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until the grains are soft. Fold in the cheeses. Serve immediately or reserve.
• To encourage polenta to come cleanly out of the pan, cook over medium heat. Run a spatula or wooden spoon around the sides of the pan to clean off the polenta. Do not stir, but wait and watch for a few seconds until a large bubble begins to form and pushes the polenta upward. Pour immediately into a warm dish.
• The polenta can be made ahead and reheated: add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water or stock, cover the dish, and reheat in the microwave or over low heat. Whisk well before serving. Grate a dusting of Parmesan over the top just before serving.

OVEN-ROASTED POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-qt. nonstick ovenproof skillet; pour in the cornmeal, water, milk (if using), butter, and salt and stir with a fork until blended. The mixture will separate and take more than half the cooking time to come together. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir the polenta, taste, add salt if needed, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the polenta rest in the pan for 5 minutes before pouring it into a buttered bowl to scoop out and serve or onto a wooden board or pizza peel to slice into wedges.

SOFT POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring 3 cups water to a full boil in a heavy pot. Simmer the remaining water close by.
• Add the salt and rapidly stir the water with a whisk, creating a vortex. Continuing to stir constantly, add the polenta in a thin stream into the vortex.
• Continue to stir after all the polenta has been added, then lower the heat to a simmer rather than a boil.
• As the polenta thickens, replace the whisk with a long-handled wooden spoon.
• Add the 1 cup of remaining water and continue to stir. Break up any lumps with the back of the spoon pressed against the pot.
• Continue stirring the polenta, reaching to the bottom of the pot as necessary, until it gets thick and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
• Taste the polenta to test tenderness; add additional water if necessary. The polenta can take 15 to 60 minutes to cook properly, depending on its type.
• During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the pepper and butter, then add the cheese.
• Remove from heat.
• If serving immediately, pour onto a large platter or into a bowl or individual dishes.

HOW TO MAKE PERFECT POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan; pour polenta slowly into boiling water, whisking constantly until all polenta is stirred in and there are no lumps.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until polenta starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Polenta mixture should still be slightly loose. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, whisking every 5 to 6 minutes. When polenta is too thick to whisk, stir with a wooden spoon. Polenta is done when texture is creamy and the individual grains are tender.
• Turn off heat and gently stir 2 tablespoons butter into polenta until butter partially melts; mix 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into polenta until cheese has melted. Cover and let stand 5 minutes to thicken; stir and taste for salt before transferring to a serving bowl. Top polenta with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and about 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for garnish.

ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Trim the tenderloin, pat dry and place on a large plate.
• Rub the pork tenderloins with the olive oil then season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl mix together the thyme, mustard and brown sugar and rub the mixture evenly over the tenderloins. Let this sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Place an oven-safe skillet (like cast iron) over medium-high heat. When the skillet gets hot, add the olive oil and brown the tenderloins well on all sides. When they are nicely browned, add the warm stock and gently scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze.
• Transfer the skillet to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest portion of the tenderloin, and when it registers 155°F, it is ready. Remove the meat from the oven, cover loosely with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes (it will continue cooking while resting). When you are ready to serve, slice it on an angle and spoon some of its juices over it.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Bring 4½ cups water to a simmer in a large ovenproof saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and the salt and whisk until the butter is melted. Gradually stir in the polenta--do not add it all at once or you will end up with clumps. Whisk the mixture constantly until the polenta comes to a boil.
• Cover the pot with a lid, and transfer it to the lower rack in the oven. Bake until the polenta is tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the polenta from oven.
• Meanwhile, carefully uncover the saucepan and whisk the polenta vigorously, scraping bottom of pan to keep any from burning. At that point the polenta should be smooth. Slowly add the Parmesan cheese, whisking constantly until the cheese is melted and the polenta is smooth and thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover until ready to serve. If necessary, reheat over low heat when ready to serve.
• Divide the polenta among warmed bowls and top with more Parmesan. Serve at once.

SOFT POLENTA

Steps:

• Add 4 1/2 cups water, 1 tablespoon salt and the olive oil to a medium saucepot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in the cornmeal in a steady stream, until it is all incorporated and smooth.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook at a simmer until the polenta is creamy and fully hydrated, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Take the saucepot off the heat and whisk in the butter and Parmesan. Season with additional salt and pepper. Transfer the polenta to a large serving bowl and serve.

OVEN SOFT POLENTA

Steps:

• Combine water, salt, cornmeal, parsley and butter in a large oven-proof saucepan or bowl (I use large clear Pyrex bowl). Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 1 hour and 20 minutes. Stir polenta and bake 10 additional minutes. Remove from oven and set aside 5 minutes to rest before serving. Recipe can be cut in half.

MOM'S EASY OVEN POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a 1 to 1-1/2 quart baking pan, stir together the water, salt, pepper and polenta.
• Add the pieces of butter.
• Place the container, uncovered, in the center of the top rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
• Open the oven, pull out the rack and stir the polenta (this is also the time to add any additional ingredients such as cheese).
• Close the oven and bake the polenta for an additional 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
• At this point you can either prepare it for frying or serve immediately; if you want to fry it, then you should form it in a pan and refrigerate for several hours.
• It's great straight out of the oven with marinara sauce on it.
• Good additions are Monterey Jack cheese, parmesan, jalapenos, or even pine nuts.

SOFT POLENTA

Steps:

• Add the salt to 6 cups of water in a pot, and bring to boil over high heat. Very slowly sift in alternating handfuls of coarse and fine cornmeal, whisking constantly.
• Add the butter, reduce heat to low and stir with a wooden spoon until the polenta peels cleanly off the sides of the pot as it is stirred, about 20 minutes.
• Make a circle of coarse cornmeal 15 inches in diameter on a tablecloth, and spread the polenta over it to a thickness of 3/4 inch. Top with 4 cups of the beans and sausage and serve on the tablecloth.

OVEN-BAKED POLENTA

Steps:

• Butter a shallow 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish, and set aside. Place stock or water and salt into a large saucepan, and bring to simmer. Remove pan from heat.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Slowly pour polenta into stock, stirring rapidly with a wooden spoon. Place pan on medium heat. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly in same direction. Boil 5 minutes, continuing to stir.
• Pour polenta into buttered dish, and cover with buttered foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and serve.

QUICK-COOKING SOFT POLENTA

Steps:

• In medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add polenta in a slow steady stream, whisking continuously. Whisk until thickened and smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and cheese, and stir. Season with salt and pepper; serve warm.