Polenta with Corn and Thyme

It has only been in the past year that I have started to understand the wonders of polenta. According to Wikipedia, polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal (ground maize) originally made with Chestnut meal in ancient times.

It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. What is also funny about polenta is that it was originally and still is classified as a peasant food. It is has only been in this late 20th century that polenta has become more popular in gourmet food.

The greatest thing about polenta is that it's so easy to make and you can do so many different things with it. I found a creamy corn polenta recipe in Martha's Stewart's Every day Food magazine. (I know quite different from my normal CL's issues)

In large saucepan, melt 1 TBSP unsalted butter over medium heat, add 1 cup frozen corn and 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is warmed through, about 1 minute.
Add one cup whole milk (I used 2% milk) and 1 and 1/2 cups water and bring it to a boil. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal. (Be sure to follow these instructions and use a whisk! Otherwise it will get clumpy!)
Cook, sitrring constantly until mixture is thick and creamy, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 TBSP butter and 1/4 cup grated parmesan. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Serve immediately. Serves four.



I served this corn polenta with the honey spiced rub drumsticks. I added a little more red pepper this time and I ran out of honey so I did not glaze the drumsticks with honey. The extra red pepper gave the chicken a kick! The creamy, cheesy and buttery taste of the polenta went excellent with the spicy chicken!