Velvety, creamy and buttery polenta with a quarter of the hands on time of stove top cook and stir and polenta.

What is polenta?

Polenta is a cooked cornmeal. The cornmeal is cooked in seasoned boiling water with optional cheese and butter. There is a good amount of stirring to avoid unpleasant clumping. The result is a warm soft cornmeal porridge. Polenta is traditionally Italian but is a staple in parts of Romania, Moldova and Southern Ukraine, where is goes by the name of mămăligă/ mamaliga.

Polenta has a bad rap of being difficult or temperamental to cook. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It requires a little pre-planning and hands on cooking but ultimately all you need is a good pot, whisk and maybe some good music to stir to!

This baked version requires half the stirring. The oven does most of the work and gives you free time to assemble the rest of the dish.

What is cornmeal?

Cornmeal is made of ground yellow corn, with the texture and size of ground ranging from fine to course. This is the same cornmeal that would be used in cornbread, pancakes, ricotta cake, corn muffins, or used in breading.

The flavor is distinctly corn. The color is a bright cheerful yellow.

Is cornmeal, corn flour, masa harina and grits the same?

Yes and no. All are ground yellow corn with a few differences.

Corn flour is much finer and smoother than cornmeal and much like the name has a texture like flour.

Cornmeal has some grit and texture. You could use either for polenta, it is a matter of preference, availability and regional tradition.

Masa Harina is also ground cornmeal. The dried corn kernels are treated through soaking in an alkaline agent, which helps dissolve the outer skin. Masa Harina has a distinct flavor and texture that differs from cornmeal, leaning into a mellower nutty sweet corn flavor and is paler in color.

Masa harina is often used in making tortillas, tamales, arepas, and thickening chili.

Grits are made also from dried ground corn, the difference is in the type of corn used. The corn used in grits is starchier and typically made from white hominy, and like Masa Harina treated with alkali prior to being ground. The texture is, gritty and the flavor not too disimilar to polenta. Not all grits are made from hominy, but all grits are coarse in texture.

For this recipe, finely ground corn meal is best, it still has a little texture and grit and works best for this baked version.

Farmer Cheese

Farmer cheese is a small curd fresh cheese, also known as syr, twarog or tvorog. Our family reaches for Lifeway Farmer Cheese for new twists on traditional favorites like this sponsored post or for everyday quick and easy meals.

The flavor is slightly tart and creamy in the sweet way good diary products taste.

Sometimes farmer cheese is compared to ricotta. Ricotta is also a fresh milk cheese but milder in flavor with a higher water content.

Lifeway farmer cheese contains 12 live and active probiotics, 13grams of protein and naturally lactose free.

How to eat polenta?

Polenta can be enjoyed savory with stews and sauces or sweet with honey, jam or fruits. Growing up we always crumbled a little feta over polenta for salty, sweet and savory combination.

Ideally polenta should be eaten the very moment it is cooked. Cooled polenta will solidify. It is delicious cut and fried the next day as a breakfast or a base for salad/ toppings.

Some ideas for next day polenta:

Jam

Cheese

Fruit

Shrimp

Pulled pork or chicken

Jam

Tomato Salad

Mushrooms

Baked polenta retains heat longer, stays creamer for a time after cooking and requires much less hands on time than traditionally cooked stove top polenta.

Baked Farmer Cheese Polenta

Total time: 45minutes

Hands on time: 10 minutes

Servings: 8

(you can halve the recipe easily. Baking time will remain around 30minutes)

What do I need to bake polenta?

A large shallow baking dish, no more than 1-2 inches deep, either square or oval. Round pans don;t work for this recipe. I’m sure there is science and math behind it, but take my word for it…

1 cup Finely ground yellow cornmeal

4 cups of Water

1/2 cup Lifeway Farmer Cheese

2 tbspn Butter

1 tsp Salt

.5 tsp Sugar

Baking Sheet to catch any overflow and foil to cover

Baked Polenta Topping

Whipped farmer cheese find my recipe here

Quick microwave mixberry topping

1/2 cup Mixed berries/3tbsp apricot jam, mixed and microwaved for 1 minute. Stir and set aside

Method:

Sift cornmeal into the baking dish. Pour over water, salt and sugar.

Stir in farmer cheese until well distributed. Doesn’t have to be perfect.

Dot with butter.

Cover with foil, set on baking sheet and bake at 350F for 30-45minutes.

Check on polenta at 20 minute mark to whisk through several times. Cover and allow to cook.

NOTE: If the polenta looks stiff at the 20 minute mark, add 1/4 cup water and stir through. The consistency at 20 minutes should be similar to a cream of wheat.

Once fully cooked it should be like a thick creamy pudding.

Top with whipped farmer cheese, jam and fresh fruits.

Final texture of baked Polenta. It will be like thick pudding speckled with bits of farmer cheese. It should puddle back after spooning.