Polenta ala Romano

Baked polenta cakes with cheese are very popular all over Italy. This is peasant food humble but very satisfying. The predecessor to corn was buckwheat but by the 16th century, maize from the new world was edging it out. Today white and yellow corn are both popular. In Rome, the dish is often served in the fall and winter months. In Casperia a 1000 year old vil- lage just north of Rome, you can celebrate the polenta festival in a quaint mountain town. There is some argument if “ala Romano” includes meat or not. As far as I know, there is no law against adding a sauce and some cut up sausage.

2 extra large beaten eggs
4 cups milk
1 cup polenta
1 3⁄4 cups grated Romano cheese pinch of white pepper
 1 3⁄4 teaspoon sea salt Pinch of nutmeg
6 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Butter a large baking sheet and set it aside. Beat eggs is a separate bowl.

Heat milk in a heavy sauce pan. When boiling, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, stir in polenta, a little at a time, so that mixture retains a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat; continue stirring until the mixture is so stiff that the spoon will remain free standing straight up. Remove polenta from heat.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl and add 1 cup of grated Romano cheese. Now stir the mixture into the polenta. Spread mixture on large buttered baking dish to about 1⁄4 thick with a spatula. Refrigerate pan uncovered until very firm about 2 hours. Butter a shallow 9 x 14 baking dish. Cut dollar sized to 1 1⁄2 inch rounds from the cold polenta and transfer the rounds to the baking dish, slightly overlapping the rounds in a decorative pattern. Dribble over the melted butter and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake in center of oven until polenta is crisp and golden. For a darker color, place under the broiler until the correct color. Serve hot. Often served with a bit of hot marinara sauce.