1. To make wet polenta: put water and salt in a pan and bring to boil. Pour in polenta and stir well. Use 5 parts water to 1 part polenta.
2. Bring mixture to boil and cook for 5-10min, stirring every so often to make sure polenta doesn’t catch or go lumpy. Be careful when polenta is boiling as it can bubble volcanically and spit. The polenta is ready when texture becomes creamy. Season well with salt and pepper. You can add cheese, cream or butter to give it a richer flavour, if you like.
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3. To make fried polenta slices, use basic method to make wet version but use 1 part polenta to 4 parts water.
4. Grease a roasting tin with a little oil and add polenta. Wet back of a spoon and spread polenta evenly.
5. The polenta will firm up once completely cold. Turn tray upside down on a board to release polenta. Cut into equal sized slices.
6. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and drizzle in some oil.
7. Lay polenta slices, a couple at a time, into pan and cook for roughly 3min, until undersides are lightly browned. Flip over and brown on other side.
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Oak chopping board, Lakeland. White China bistro bowl, White China tea plate, White ceramic bistro plate, Sophie Conran. Easy Induction frying pan (20cm), Montreux saucepan (2 litres, 18cm), Kuhn Rikon UK. Classic glass bowl (1 litre), Classic glass measure jug (1 litre), Classic rectangular non-stick metal roasters, Pyrex. Loft 24-piece dinner set, Pro chef’s knife, Zwilling J.A. Henckels. Wooden spoon, glass ramekin, oil pourer, palette knife, chef's own.
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