Ingredient Spotlight: Polenta

So I'm thinking since I can't seem to keep a single series going for too long, that I'll just keep a bunch of fun series simultaneously running so I can maintain my interest in doing the whole blogging shebang. The thing is I really do love cooking, so I'm doing the food part of my own volition, it's just writing about it that proves to be tough sometimes. Anyway, onto the post. 

So my mum told me that physically speaking, your body needs at least 30 distinct types of ingredients in a single week, every week, if you can manage it. The variety is (apparently) good for your gut, your mental state (not just because food's more interesting with more ingredients) and your overall long-term health. Now I vary my ingredients quite a bit, but her contention was that I could afford to do it more, so I've been looking into more interesting bases for my dishes. Polenta is one of my favourites, and it's surprisingly underused. 

Now. Here's how professionals tend to use polenta. It's got a mild, slightly sweet taste, which works very well as a balancing element with deeper, richer proteins, think Beef and Lamb. It's never been the best solo dish, but it is incredible as a secondary element with a protein-rich meal. Generally, the flavours used in polenta itself are light: 

• Herbs: Think Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, lighter flavours that are not as noticeable in strong sauces but shine beautifully in a neutral, mild base
• Spices: The same idea, salt, pepper and maybe garlic/garlic powder are used
• Onions/Shallots: You want to use light flavoured onions - sweet or white, and shallots are always a good addition instead, again the light flavours work well
• Cheeses: If you're going to use a cheese, I'd recommend parmesan, maybe pecorino, or if you're more interested in a cheese-forward dish, gorgonzola (for the bluesy notes), fontina, toma, taleggio. Nothing very strong, no cheddars, no goudas, keep it light.

Now, I've been breaking a rule here...I don't eat beef, and very rarely eat lamb or pork, so for me chicken and fish are my universal go-tos for a good meal. But, even here, there are ways to make a dish worthy of that beautiful base. See, with a light meat and a light base, you have three options. The first is to lean into it: Light dish, keep it very easy, same philosophy as a salmon with beurre blanc...acid, salt, and here you even have a bit of richness. Alternatively, sauce it up with something that's stronger, more intense, that way the light meat and light base are complimented with the richness of the sauce. Option three is to go a bit nuts...make the polenta the rich element. Add the strong flavours, rely on the texture of the polenta but the richness of the other flavours, and that elevates the dish. So, here's how I did each of those.

Light base, light meat, rich sauce: The less-aesthetically plated chicken dish (Rightmost). Yeah, I know, I tried to do some weird stuff there and it didn't work, meh...good notes for next time. I have a new way I'd like to try plating, so I guess there's that. But the flavours were (as always) phenomenal. Of course, the first challenge is to perfect the cook of the chicken, but assuming you're on my blog, I'd imagine you've done that already (if not I'll include some notes in a later post). Polenta was simple too...a bit of butter, a bit of parmesan, that's it. But the sauce. Started with caramelised shallots (better than plain old shallots for the richness), good bit of browned garlic, then a chicken stock deglaze, I would've put in red wine but I had none, but for a bit of the umami flavour I added some of the trader joes' umami seasoning, and some fresh minced chillies. Green oil on top was unnecessary. 

Light base, light meat: So this one's more easy than the other. I decided to incorporate a white wine reduction into the polenta, and used browned butter instead of plain to give it a bit more nuttiness, but the rest is more or less equivalent. And the chicken was easy as well, salt and a herb mix, that's about it.

Rich base, light meat: The salmon dish. So again, if you're not sure how to cook the perfect salmon, I'll put some tips in a later post. But, once you've cooked the salmon, here's the rest. The polenta involved a few interesting flavours. Firstly, I made a miso rub for the salmon, which I complimented by adding a bit of miso paste into the polenta. To add to the miso flavouring, I went in with some honey, rice wine vinegar, shallots, garlic, finely diced green onion, and some sage. Yes, I know, sage is an unusual choice with the rest, but it really worked. And to top it off, I went in with a hint of soy sauce, just for that last umami kick. The result was fantastic. 

So that's how I'd cook Polenta if I were you. And it's easy. Doesn't take much time, one pan, inexpensive, everything in perfect balance.

Signing off, thanks for reading, and see you soon!