Polenta. What can I do with the stuff ?

I would try some but I don't really like the flavour or texture of corn bread or Dorritos and other corn based snacks.

A really tasty ragu is the way to go, or add parmigiano or gorgonzola to the polenta when you cook it. I make bread which mixes polenta, sesame seeds, sunflower seed and melon seeds with ordinary flour (Thankyou Gino Da Campo!)
Cooked polenta, left to cool and then cut into squares,can be coated with cheese and grilled.
If you are making pizzas a scattering of raw polenta will make the pizza easy to slide into the oven.

Have a go hildajenniJ. You may be a better cook than I am and I wonder if a stronger cheese might make a difference.

I'm sorry the polenta chips were not very tasty. I was going to make some myself, but maybe not now. ??

I love the taste of polenta. The first fime I made it was a recipe for children back in the eighties and I have done it a lot since. You boil up some milk and water with salt and add the polenta and bring to the boil again, stir in some grated parmesan and press into a cake tin (it's very stiff) and bake for 20-25 min. You can cut it into squares and fry it or eat it straight away with a spicy sauce. It's lovely on its own - has a nutty, comforting taste.

I coat chicken breast pieces with polenta mixed with tarragon and fry them in olive oil.

Had a go with your recipe Hilda. The chips turned out quite well but were still not very tasty.

Ruby song, it's not only ants., even cooked it has been known to have the same effect on humans

Love the sound of the cakes. I know my daughter uses it but I never have . What does it come from?

Apparently dry polenta will kill ants. They eat it but can't digest it and it kills them. I read that somewhere yesterday,no idea where. Was it another GN thread?

Yes awful stuff, I had it in Italy possibly in its unadulterated state, it was like tasteless slop

oh wobblybits, you made me laugh

wobblybits and oldgaigin, that's exactly how I felt about polenta the one and only time I tried it.

Yes polenta chips are very good

What marionk said. It needs a really good pasta sauce on it, tomato or a meat. Delish!

I've had polenta chips in a restaurant. Delicious! No idea how to make them but I'm sure you could Google a recipe.

My Italian neighbour used to serve it with a wonderful tomato sauce and lashings of Parmesan, it was delicious.

Toss parboiled potatoes in it prior to roasting. Gives a lovely crunchy finish. Think Nigella did it on one of her programmes.

I recently made an orange, blueberry and polenta cake which vanished in no time! The Italians serve cooked polenta with things like rabbit stew do that it soaks up the juices and flavours, but I prefer it in CAKE! It was a Waitrose recipe so bound to be on their website if you want to try it

I would use it to hang wallpaper.

It is pretty boring on its own! Some people suggest deep frying it, but personally I find that it absorbs too much oil and is more of a snack than a meal in any case.

We like it best mixed or topped with cheese, parmesan is less greasy, left to set in a tin, grilled and then cut up. You can add other toppings if you like.

If you Google "grilled polenta toppings" there are loads of recipes and pictures. You can see from the google images that it looks much more appetizing if it is grilled, and the cheese (or herbs and spices) makes it actually taste of something.

My mother was coeliac and loved orange or lemon polenta cake which is, I guess, what previous posters have called lemon drizzle cake.

Cornbread is lovely or look up recipes for cakes, it's very versatile! I use it alot.

They serve polenta chips in some restaurants e.g. Jamies Italian and they are wonderful- deep fried though!!

I think polenta needs something with a lot of sauce maybe beef in red wine.

It's OK if you cook it in a light stock. Try it with the sticky chicken recipe on today's page just below this.
I must admit I usually only use it in cakes but it is Ok if you flavour it.

You can make a lovely corn bread/cake with it.