We are among the lovers - we would even have it for breakfast. The key is to look for high quality polenta flour - no instant polenta here. Polenta is such a low cost ingredient, so it's not here, you want to save. You want the real stuff, the stuff that needs to cook for an hour or even a little more - on the lowest possible flame and making the sounds of a sleepy vulcano.
We always get the type called Bramata - it's a blend of various types of corn, that gives the polenta the rich yellow colour you are looking for. Also always make sure to get the freshest polenta flour - as the flavour is far superior. Simply look at the sell by date - you should at least have a year or more to go.
We eat polenta quite often here in Umbria - we love it - either as soft polenta, where you serve it just cooked with loads of butter and grated parmignano whisked in at the end. Spooned onto a plate, still quite liquid and topped with a rich stew, sauteed greens or marinated shell fish - well that is just plain good comfort food.
Or you can cook the polenta, add the parmignano, but no butter and then pour it onto a plate or a board and leave it to set. Then you can use it in so many ways. Traditionally in nothern Italy - you would serve the set plolenta still a little warm with some salumi as an antipasto. Once cold you can cut it into pieces and grill it, you can break it into smaller pieces and coat the pieces in polenta flour and then deep fry them as tasty chips. You can top pieces of polenta with cheese and sauteed mushrooms and gratinate in the oven or place pieces of set polenta in an oven dish together with a rich tomato based ragu and bake it...so many choices....And you can make gnocchi of the leftover set polenta.
For this dish you want to use polenta just cooked with water and with cheese added at the end - no butter.
Serves 4 as a starter
500 g cooked polenta
1 egg
60 g tipo 00 flour
some rosemary, finely chopped
a little grated nutmeg
sea salt and black pepper
a little soft butter
grated parmesan
Pass the cold polenta through a kitchen sieve, so it looks like loose mash potato. Place in a bowl and add the egg, flour, rosemary and a pinch of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and mix until you have a firm dough.
Take a piece of the dough and roll into a ball, roughly the size of a walnut. Continue until all the dough is used. Bring a pan of salted water the boil. Boil the gnocchi for about a minute, or until the rise to the surface. Lift them out of the water and place on a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.
Preheat your oven to 200c degrees.
Grease your oventray with butter and place the gnocchi inside. Sprinkle over the parmesan and bake the gnocchi in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and the cheese is melted and has formed a crust.
Remove from the oven and serve with the sauce of your chioce.
We made a very simple condiment of roasted sweet cherry tomatoes still on the vine. Just put them in the oven 10 minutes before the gnocchi, drizzled with olive oil, seasoning and herbs - and they will be done together with the gnocchi.
Or they would be great with a simple pesto or you could baked them on top of a tomato and sausage sauce....the choice is yours.....