Cornmeal Porridge with Milk
Cornmeal has exactly one difficulty — lumps, and they form in the first thirty seconds. Pour the grain in a thin stream into liquid that is already boiling, whisking the whole time, and there will be none at all. After that it simply cooks and thickens by itself.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 280 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 4 bowls
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Bring the liquid to the boil
Combine the milk and water in a heavy pot with the salt and sugar and bring to the boil over medium heat. The water is there to stop the milk catching.
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Step 2: Rain in the cornmeal
Pour it in a thin stream, whisking without stopping. Never tip it in at once: a dry heap sets on the outside and stays raw inside, and that is a lump.
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Step 3: Drop the heat
As soon as it starts to thicken, turn the heat to its lowest. Cornmeal spits scalding bubbles on a high flame and sticks to the base.
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Step 4: Cook for 20 minutes
Stir every two or three minutes with a wooden spoon, going along the base and into the corners. It is done when the grains no longer feel gritty and the mass trails behind the spoon.
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Step 5: Let it settle
Turn off the heat, add the butter, cover and leave for 10 minutes. It thickens further as it stands, so serve it straight away: cold cornmeal porridge sets firm as polenta.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Fine cornmeal takes 20 minutes, medium 30–35. Polenta grain is coarser still and in milk needs twice the time and liquid.
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Tip
A heavy pot is not fussiness here: in a thin one milk and grain scorch even on the lowest heat, and you taste it in every spoonful.
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Variation
A savoury version: leave out the sugar and stir in 80 g of grated hard cheese at the end — plain polenta for meat or mushrooms.
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Storage
Two days in the fridge. Reheat the set porridge with milk over low heat, breaking it up with a whisk, or slice it and fry the slices.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 280 kcal | 1,120 kcal |
| Protein | 9 g | 36 g |
| Fat | 10 g | 40 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g | 156 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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