Recipe: Sweet Corn Polenta with Sage

Polenta is corn that is dried, ground and cooked like a porridge. You can purchase it pre-cooked in tubes, par-cooked, or raw.  Most dried polentas are par-cooked to shorten the cooking time; otherwise, it can take hours to cook a specialty polenta. The less processed the corn, the longer it requires to cook and the more complex the flavor. The recipe below marries fresh corn with its starchier, dried counterpart. It can be served as a side dish or, if served with a robust sauce, a main course.

Sweet Corn Polenta with Sage

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups polenta
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 each fresh ears corn, kernels removed
• 1 Tbsp fresh sage cut into ribbons

  Instructions:

1. Bring water and milk to a boil; add salt.
2. Whisk polenta into boiling liquid in a steady stream. Cook till smooth and completely cooked.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat, add corn and sage.
4. Cook corn until color deepens (about 5 minutes), then fold into cooked polenta. Serve hot. Yields 4 side dish portions.

Tips:

• Cut corn cobs in half before removing the kernels. The corn has less distance to fall and it prevents corn from flying all over the kitchen.
• Adjust final consistency with more water or milk.

Want to learn first-hand from Chef Greer? Check out her Farm-to-City: Harvest class on October 6th.