This week’s I LOVE FOOD feature is the Polenta fry. Now, for those of you who don’t know what Polenta is; it is an Italian dish made from boiled cornmeal. I have had it several ways, but usually as a side dish. A lot of Italians substitute pasta and throw marinara and cheese on top to make it a main entree. Another way I like to describe it is like a porridge or a cream of wheat.
Basically, there are many things one can do with Polenta. My favorite way to eat Polenta is “cream-ified.” This means the recipes takes the basics of the cornmeal and adds cream. It’s a perfect side dish. It is less heavy then mashed potatoes, but also more flavorful.
This was my favorite way to eat it before I had “Polenta Fries” from Mosutto’s Market in Spring Lake, NJ. This is a place down the shore and deserves all of the credit in the world. (Not only do they make brick oven pizza, but they make the dough for the brick oven pizza as well.)
The Polenta fry is, as you could have guessed it, fried. But, the inside is dense, moist, and delicious. The light seasoning on the outside adds a nice kick. Making polenta into a french fry really blew me out of my seat. Try one of these rare treats soon before they become the “norm.”
