I buy the polenta in the tubes and I make it from scratch. I get the tubes at Trader Joe's. When I make it from scratch, I get it from Safeway. The brand I get is Golden Pheasant; it is the only brand my Safeway carries and it can be a little tricky to find. I think it is in the baking aisle.
I use polenta in lots of different dishes. Here are some of the things I've done with it:
- I use the tube polenta as a substitute for corn tortillas in tamale pie (lower in calories and more filling than the tortillas).
- I use it as a substitute for rice or pasta. So food that you would normally serve over rice, I sometimes serve over polenta. For example, I have a recipe for Morrocan Chicken Soup that I serve over polenta. I've also served Indian dishes that would normally be served with rice with polenta. And Italian dishes that would be served with pasta usually work well with polenta.
- For lunch, I will often slice up 1/4 tube of polenta and eat it with a chicken breast and some type of sauce. Sometimes I pop the polenta and sauce in the microwave, sometimes I fry it in pan I use to saute the chicken. Sometimes I add spinach to it. Recently I topped the whole thing with a sunnyside up egg. It was a great lunch--very filling and lots of protein between the chicken and the egg.
- I also make a lunch out of 1/4 tube of polenta, diced chicken, salsa, and refried beans. I put it all in a bowl and pop it in the microwave.
- I use it as a bread substitute. For example, I like to have a gardenburger over polenta with some Trader Joe's light chevre. Or I'll eat it with chicken sausage and sauteed onions and peppers.
- I have a casserole recipe that layers polenta with swiss chard and yogurt. I have a similar recipe that uses green tomatoes. Both can make a great side dish.
- For breakfast I make egg cassoroles with polenta, ham, and light chevre. I cook the polenta in individaul ramekins the night before. In the morning, I top each one with ham, light chevre, an egg, and 1 tbsp FF half and half. Then I pop the ramekins in the oven at 375 until the eggs are set.
So you can see why I'm having trouble with the idea of giving up polenta. It's an important staple in my diet.
When I make polenta from scratch, I always make it in the oven. Forget trying to do the stove-top method. Just put the polenta in a casserole dish with the amount of liquid the package calls for (or more, if you want your polenta really soft) and stick it in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on how much you are making and how firm you want it. You should check on it to see how it is doing once or twice and stir it around some, but other than that, you can pretty much forget about it. If it cooks too quickly, just stir some more liquid into it and put a cover on it. I even use this method for single servings. Also, I always make my polenta with chicken broth instead of water, but that's just a personal preference. If you use chicken broth, you may need to use a little less salt than the polenta package calls for. Sometimes I throw in other spices, like saffron, oregano, basil, or cumin with the polenta. It's also good with sun-dried tomatoes stirred into it.
Also, the Golden Pheasant polenta says that 1 serving is 1/4 cup dry. I have found this to be way too much (and I normally eat pretty large portions). I find that 2 tbsp dry, which is 70 calories, is plenty for one serving.
Glory, when you make polenta from scratch, when it is warm it's always going to be softer than what you get in the tubes. If you make it in the oven though, you should be able to get the texture firmer than you can on the stovetop. And if you let it cool, it will reach the same firmness as what is in the tubes.