Valdostan Cheese Polenta (Polenta Concia Valdostana)

La storia di questo piatto

In the high valleys of Valle d'Aosta, where cold mountain air makes a bowl of warmth feel like a small act of devotion, polenta concia belongs to the table of the Alps. Maize gold meets Fontina from the valley and Parmigiano Reggiano, joined by butter into something unhurried and generous.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Cornmeal polenta
• 1.3 L Vegetable or meat broth
• 150 g Butter
• 200 g Fontina Valdostana cheese
• 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano
• 8 g Salt
• 2 g Black pepper
• 1 pinch Nutmeg

Preparazione

1. Heat the broth in a wide pot and bring it to a vigorous boil over medium-high heat. Set aside about 300 ml of hot broth in a small saucepan over low heat; it will be used to loosen the polenta during cooking. Add about 5 g of salt (a generous pinch) to the broth and stir: adjust the rest at the end after tasting, since the broth and cheeses are already savory.
2. Sprinkle the cornmeal into the boiling broth in a steady rain, letting it fall gradually from your closed fist. Keep whisking as you pour to break up the lumps that form. Go slowly: if you add all the flour at once, large lumps will form. Keep the whisk moving constantly and vigorously so the flour distributes evenly through the hot liquid.
3. Switch to a wooden spoon (or keep whisking) and stir steadily, scraping the bottom and corners of the pot well. Cook over medium heat for 25-30 minutes. If the polenta thickens too quickly, loosen it with a ladle of the reserved hot broth. It is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the pot as you stir, becomes heavy to turn, and you hear a faint, delicate popping as you scrape the bottom (the bubbles bursting). If the polenta sticks too much to the bottom, lower the heat slightly.
4. Remove the pot from the heat. Cut the cold butter (150 g in total) into cubes about one centimeter wide and set aside 40 g for gratinating. Add the remaining 110 g to the hot polenta in 3-4 additions, stirring energetically for 20-30 seconds each time: the butter will melt and make the polenta smooth and glossy.
5. Of the 200 g of Fontina, grate 40 g (about 3-4 tablespoons) and set aside for the topping; cut the remaining 160 g into small cubes and add them to the polenta along with the 80 g of grated Parmigiano. Stir well and quickly for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and the polenta is creamy and velvety, like a thick cream that flows slowly from the spoon.
6. Taste a spoonful of polenta (careful: it is very hot). If needed, add a pinch of salt and stir. Then add a grinding of fresh black pepper and a small grating of nutmeg: the aroma should be delicate, not overpowering. Stir well and taste again.
7. Preheat the oven grill. Transfer the polenta to a buttered baking dish, level it, and sprinkle with the 40 g of grated Fontina set aside, along with the 40 g of butter in flakes. Place under the grill for 5-8 minutes, until golden on top.
8. Serve the polenta piping hot, in bowls you have warmed under hot water and dried well (they stay warm longer and keep the polenta creamy). If you like, finish with thin slices of Fontina gently softened in a nonstick pan with a drizzle of butter, or with black truffle shavings grated fresh with a microplane grater.