The easiest way to cook creamy soft polenta won't take hours of whisking or tending when it's cooked with just water and salt in the oven instead.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Keyword polenta
Cook Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Calories 153kcal
Ingredients
2cupscoarse stone ground cornmeal
11 cupscold water
1tablespoonkosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Add the cornmeal to a large cast iron dutch oven or heavy bottom pot. Pour in 11 cups of cold water and add the kosher salt. While whisking, bring to a gently bubbling simmer to release the gluten and separate the grains.
Cover with a lid and transfer the pot to the oven to bake for 1 hour. After an hour, use a wooden spoon to stir and release any of the polenta stuck to the corners or sides of the pot. Bake for another 15-30 minutes or until it's the consistency you like best. Remove from the oven, stir, and allow the polenta to sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper to taste. *adapted from Christopher Kimball's Milk Street