Contents
Each hostess tries to put something new and interesting on the festive table in order to surprise and delight guests and households. We are all used to sandwiches and snacks served before the main course to whet our appetite. For their base, various breads, baguettes or tartlets are used. As a rule, it is high in calories and does not provide any benefit to the body. In this article, we invite you to prepare unusual holiday snacks on polenta.
Polenta is an Italian dish made from cornmeal. By the way, cornmeal in Italy is also called polenta. This porridge is versatile and easy to prepare. In the 16th century, when corn was introduced to Europe, the dish quickly spread to the tables of workers and peasants due to its simplicity and cheapness. Later, they began to prepare the most real delights from polenta and served it in expensive restaurants. Corn flour is high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Polenta will be a great substitute for the usual bread in our snacks.
How to make polenta
The process of making polenta is simple and does not take much time, if you do not take into account the time for its cooling. To prepare polenta snacks, we recommend preparing it in advance so that you do not mess with cereals on the day of the holiday.
Ingredients:
- Corn flour – 300 gr.
- Water – 1.3 l.
- Butter – 2 tablespoons
- Sol – 1 tsp.
How to make polenta
As you can see, we only need four ingredients to make polenta. And the first step is to boil and salt the water. Then add cereal to boiling water, stirring vigorously. The groats will immediately steam up and the mass will become thick. This mass must be boiled over low heat for about 7 minutes. Do not stop stirring, the polenta should become homogeneous and in no case should it burn. Add oil to the finished porridge and mix thoroughly again. The porridge will become elastic and will easily lag behind surfaces.
We need slices to make our snacks, so place the polenta on a silicone mat and shape it into a rectangle. The thickness of the bed should be about two centimeters. As it is, leave the polenta to cool at room temperature for a couple of hours, and then cut it into squares. These squares can already be used for cooking, or you can brown them in a dry pan or grill for beauty.
See the step-by-step photo recipe Corn Polenta.
Starter 1. Polenta with tomatoes
An appetizer made from Italian polenta, of course, cannot exist without the classic Italian filling of tomatoes and olives, so we will prepare it first of all (calorizer). The classic combination of tomatoes, olives and oregano will impress lovers of Italian and Mediterranean cuisines and, moreover, it looks bright and elegant on any festive table.
Ingredients:
- Polenta – 400 g.
- Cherry – 4 pcs.
- Tomato – 1 pcs.
- Olives – 7 pcs.
- Dry garlic – 1/2 tsp
- Dried oregano – 1/2 tsp
- Parsley – 2 gr.
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Ground black pepper – 1/2 tsp
- Olive oil – 1 tsp
How to make tomato polenta
Cooking polenta with tomatoes starts with preparing the ingredients. Cut the tomato into small cubes and cut the cherry into quarters. Then chop the parsley and finely chop the olives. Pour some oil into the pan and add garlic. Fry for about a minute. Any garlic can be used in this recipe, both dried and fresh are suitable. Then add tomatoes and olives to the pan, simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 7-8 minutes. Add oregano and parsley to the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste, stir. Place the sauce and cherry tomatoes on a slice of polenta. If desired, garnish with a sprig of parsley or slices of olives.
See step-by-step photo recipe Polenta with tomatoes.
Appetizer 2. Polenta with bacon
What any festive table cannot do without is meat sandwiches. Polenta with bacon turns out to be very tasty and aromatic. In this recipe, mozzarella cheese goes well with bacon, but you can substitute it for brie or camembert, and substitute bacon for jamon. Then the appetizer will turn out to be more refined, but also more expensive.
Ingredients:
- Polenta – 400 g.
- Mozzarella – 30 g.
- Bacon – 40 gr.
How to make bacon polenta
This appetizer is very simple to prepare, you just need to cut the mozzarella into plates, put on a slice of polenta and wrap with a strip of bacon. To set the bacon in place, place the sandwiches in a dry skillet, cover, and heat over medium heat to melt the cheese and brown the bacon. You can decorate the finished appetizer with any greens of your choice.
See the step-by-step photo recipe for Polenta with Bacon and Cheese.
Starter 3. Polenta with shrimps
This recipe is especially for those who love the taste of seafood. The combination of cream cheese with tender shrimp meat can be considered a classic. To make the appetizer tasty and aromatic, choose unpeeled shrimps, they better retain their taste when frozen.
Ingredients:
- Polenta – 400 g.
- Shrimp – 8 pcs.
- Cream cheese – 2 tablespoons
- Parsley – 2 gr.
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoons
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Ground black pepper – 1/4 tsp
How to make shrimp polenta
How to make shrimp polenta: First, boil and peel the shell of the shrimp. If using boiled frozen ones, simply scald them with boiling water. Chop parsley finely and mix with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place the cream cheese and shrimps on the polenta slices and top with the parsley butter.
See the step-by-step photo recipe for Polenta with shrimps.
All these snacks are on video from our YouTube channel:
If you want to cook something new, but healthy and simple for the holiday, be sure to try making polenta snacks. Feel free to experiment with fillings, add avocado, cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes. Use different sauces for cooking. You can also prepare dessert snacks with whipped cream, berries and fruits on polenta. In this case, you can add sweetener when making polenta.