Polenta's sweeter side: Italian-style cornmeal makes a great breakfast or dessert - Food

Sunset, April, 2003 by Kate Washington

Polenta is best known as a hearty winter side dish, but its sunny yellow color and sweet corn taste make it a natural for spring too. Enhance its flavor with a little sugar in a creamy but light dish for breakfast on a cool spring morning, or use it to add extra crunch to biscotti--perfect with iced coffee on a warm afternoon. Either way, polenta's potential for sweetness and light is just right for the season.

Creamy Breakfast Polenta

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes

NOTES: If creme fraiche is unavailable, use lightly sweetened sour cream. We like this soft polenta topped with blackberry jam, but it's equally delicious topped with another jam, fresh fruit, or butter and maple syrup.

MAKES: About 6 cups; 4 to 6 servings

  3 cups low-fat (2%) milk
  1 cup polenta
  2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
  4 to 6 tablespoons
    blackberry jam (see notes)
    Lightly sweetened whipped
    creme fraiche (optional;
    see notes)

1. In a 2 1/2- to 3-quart pan over high heat, bring 3 cups water and the milk to a boil. Reduce heat so liquid is barely boiling. Stirring constantly, pour in polenta in a thin, steady stream, pausing occasionally to break up any lumps. Stir in sugar and salt.

2. Simmer, stirring often, until polenta is soft and creamy to bite, 20 to 40 minutes (if heat is too high, bubbles may "spit" globs of hot polenta out of the pan).

3. Ladle polenta into bowls and top each serving with about 1 tablespoon blackberry jam and a dollop of creme fraiche.

Per serving: 292 cal., 8.2% (24 cal.) from fat; 8.2 g protein; 2.7 g fat (1.5 g sat.); 59 g carbo (4.9 g fiber); 262 mg sodium; 9.8 mg chol.

Polenta Biscotti

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours

NOTES: Serve these crunchy cookies with espresso, iced tea, or iced coffee as a snack, or with a sweet Muscat wine for a simple dessert. For miniature biscotti, divide the dough into four pieces and shape them into narrower logs; shorten the baking times in steps 5 and 6 by about 5 minutes each.

MAKES: About 3 dozen cookies

    1 cup pecan halves
  1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter,
      at room temperature
    1 cup sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
    2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  1/2 cup polenta
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Spread pecans on a 10- by 15-inch baking sheet. Bake in a 3250 oven until very slightly darker, about 10 minutes. Let cool; leave oven on.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon peel, and lemon juice and beat until combined.

3. Add flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt and beat until combined (dough will be sticky). Stir in pecans.

4. Divide dough in half and place portions several inches apart on a baking sheet lined with cooking parchment. Pat each into a log about 10 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch tall (moisten your hands with cold water if necessary to prevent sticking).

5. Bake until logs start to turn golden at the edges, about 25 minutes. With a wide spatula, transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

6. With a heavy, sharp knife, cut each log crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices on their side on the cooking parchment--lined sheet. Return biscotti to oven and bake until golden on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Turn them over and continue baking until cookies are crisp and golden on the other side, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer biscotti to a rack to cool. Store airtight up to 2 weeks.

Per cookie: 104 cal., 34% (35 cal.) from fat; 1.7 g protein; 3.9 g fat (1.8 g sat.); 16 g carbo (0.7 g fiber); 82 mg sodium; 19 mg chol.

RELATED ARTICLE: The right stuff

We like the Consistent results of Golden Pheasant polenta, which is widely available. Avoid instant polenta; it cooks quickly, but in our tests was unpleasantly gluey. Regular cornmeal will cook to porridge consistency and will also work fine in the biscotti, but it lacks the distinctive texture of polenta.