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comfort food: farinata, a polenta delight

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WE CALL IT MUSH, my friend Marco and I do, but not in any disparaging way. When the night’s headed into the 20s and you’ve been out in the 40s raking all day, what you want is just that: stick-to-your-ribs warmth; comfort served in a big bowl, using a big spoon. More molten than soupy, farinata is pure peasant food–nothing more than cornmeal, water, and some kale or cabbage, brought to life with garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

farinata

USE KALE, cabbage or another green if you prefer, to make this Italian-style porridge that’s quick, filling and perfect for those of us who consider such things as soupy polenta to be comfort food—and also love garlic. (Count me in on both scores.) This recipe was inspired by something a friend scribbled down from the old public-television show “Cucina Amore.”

 

ingredients:

  • ½ lb. kale or cabbage or mix
  • 6 cups water or vegetable broth (if the broth is salted, or you like a lot of Parmesan, adjust salt below)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¾ cup polenta (cornmeal); organic recommended to insure it’s GMO-free
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 cloves minced or grated garlic, or to taste
  • ¼ to ½ cup olive oil (with extra for garnish)

steps:

Wash and chop the greens; I use a coarse chiffonade cut (above photo), removing the toughest stem bits first.

Meantime, bring salted water (see above note) or stock to a rolling boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer the greens until barely tender, just a few minutes, in the water or stock.

Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.

Cook on simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Fold in the garlic, cheese and the oil; remove from heat.

Serve immediately in bowls garnished with more oil and pepper. Serves three (or two with seconds). When eating alone, I halve the recipe, and it’s a heaping portion and then some.

For me, a big bowlful is a meal–perhaps with a salad. For guests who eat meat? Grilled Italian-style sausages would make a perfect side dish.

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46 comments
November 5, 2012

comments

  1. SamU says

    February 18, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    Made this tonight–used fresh shredded asiago cheese–totally awesome!

    Reply
    • margaret says

      February 19, 2013 at 5:36 am

      So glad you enjoyed it, Sam. Asiago is a good idea, I should try that as a variation. Nice to see you here!

      Reply
  2. Gina Buffum says

    February 22, 2013 at 7:44 pm

    I used turnip greens, no salt, added ground pepper. We had it with Italian Bread. It was wonderful!

    Reply
  3. Lucie says

    November 8, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    Ran out to my garden and cut some kale and chard and now have a bubbling pot of farinata on my stove. Yum!

    Reply
  4. Anna says

    February 3, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    Sounds delicious. Can you use just regular cornmeal, or do you have to buy polenta. I love the idea of turnip greens. We grow tons of kale each year, but turnip greens blanched, frozen and then sauteed with olive oil and garlic is my new favorite green. Sounds wonderful.

    Reply
  5. Anna says

    February 3, 2014 at 9:42 pm

    Just found polenta in the pantry and made it. Amazing how such a simple handful of ingredients can be turned into something so delicious, so quickly. Thanks for this recipe. Will keep it with me for the rest of my years. Perhaps you need to begin thinking about a cookbook!

    Reply
  6. Marian Grudko says

    February 5, 2014 at 12:17 pm

    Hi Margaret,
    This sounds divine. I love all the elements, but unfortunately can’t eat cheese. How do you think it would be if I made it without? Or can you suggest some other ingredient to substitute or compensate for no cheese? Thank you.

    Reply
    • margaret says

      February 5, 2014 at 12:46 pm

      Hi, Marian. I’d just stick with the garlic and greens and enjoy.

      Reply
  7. Brunella says

    March 1, 2014 at 12:03 pm

    Oh my goodness,

    I can’t wait to make this.
    It reminds me of my paternal Grandma.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sharon Giovacchini Johnson says

      September 25, 2017 at 6:10 pm

      My dad’s mom, my Nonna used to make farinata from left over minestrone soup with beans and kale. The polenta would thicken the soup and when placed in a soup bowl to cool and refrigerate, it would solidify taking the shape of the bowl. Next day she would fry in with a bit of olive oil in a cast iron pan. Tuscan comfort food!

      Reply
  8. pat says

    March 2, 2014 at 1:31 pm

    Yum ! I can not wait to try this ! It looks like a big bowl of comfort . The next storm is scheduled to come in tonight and I can be tucked in with good food and some wine !

    Reply
  9. Amy Hitzig says

    March 4, 2014 at 9:46 am

    Thank you for this recipe! I made this last night as our temperatures were dropping from

    Reply
  10. Amy Hitzig says

    March 4, 2014 at 9:58 am

    Thank you for this recipe! I made this last night as our temperatures were steadily dropping from 20’s to single digits following a gray snowy day. We thoroughly enjoyed it, so much that I reheated it this morning and served it with poached eggs nestled in it! Very satisfactory.

    Reply
  11. Jeanne says

    March 16, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    Since I have garlic cloves from in season frozen in smallish portions in olive oil I threw LOTS of them whole in the boiling broth along with the chopped stems and cooked that a couple of minutes before proceeding with the recipe. At the end I just added some more of the garlic oil. So it was truly yummy garlicky:-D My husband loves things spicy so he added both black pepper and red pepper flakes to his bowl.
    As a side note I ate the leftovers cold the next day as it was warm out, and that was just as good…so this will be an all seasons recipe for us.Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  12. Chloe Smith says

    December 3, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    hi Margaret, I used cabbage from my garden here in Savannah to make your corn meal mush. I put a little aside to sauté for breakfast tomorrow morning. Thanks for reminding me of this delicious treat!

    Reply
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  • A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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