Whether it's the main course or a side, polenta is an awesome dish. However, the one big drawback when cooking polenta is that it's a time suck. For a cook, it's like a marathon; the idea of it sounds wonderful, but the actual undertaking is stressful. The active cook time for polenta can take anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hours - yeah, constant stirring and folding a pot of polenta for over an hour will wear on you like Chinese water torture.
How Does One Reduce the Active Cook Time for Polenta?
There are options...
Don’t slave away for hours cooking polenta!
Option 1. Purchase a loaf of pre-cooked polenta. Yep they sell pre-cooked polenta by the chub (in a similar plastic roll that cookie dough comes in). If you've ever cooked a chub of polenta, you know this is less than ideal.
Option 2. Purchase and cook the instant version of polenta. Instant Polenta is grated superfine or it's cooked-and-dried. Blahhh! That's all I have to say about instant polenta.
Option 3. Here's the Real Way to Cut Down Polenta Cook Time without Sacrifice...
After first hearing about this method, a light bulb went on, "But of course! Genius!" All you do is pour hot water on normal ground polenta first thing in the morning. And then, when you come home from work on a weekday evening, voila! You've just cut down the cook time by at least half (if not more).
Does this Method Work for Other Liquids Besides Water?
Short answer: I don't know... yet. I usually cook polenta with milk or stock (and not water), it wouldn't be wise to leave the concoction out on the counter all day before it hits the range burner. I'll soon test some alternate ways to reduce cooking time when other liquids are called for in a polenta recipe. I'll report back with my results.
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