Italian Language Blog

La polenta (also known as polenda or pulenda) is an ancient dish made from cereal flour which is the traditional staple diet of the contadino (peasant farmer) especially in the northern Italian regions of  Veneto, Lombardia, Trentino, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

The name polenta comes from the Latin word ‘puls’, a type of polenta di farina = polenta made with flour, which formed the basis of the diet of the antique peoples of the Italian peninsula. Before the discovery of America, and the subsequent introduction of granturco (maize) into Europe, polenta was made using flour produced from cereals such as barley, spelt, rye, millet, buckwheat and wheat. Nowadays, however, polenta is made almost exclusively from farina di granturco = maize flour.

Although in recent years polenta has become a gourmet food, it was for centuries the basic subsidence diet of the poor. A northern Italian proverb tells us:

Loda la polenta e mangia il pane =  Praise polenta and eat bread (meaning that although polenta is a life saver for the poor and hungry it is less healthy and nutritious than bread).

I bet you think I’m going to give you the recipe? No, I just wanted to share this little barzelletta (joke) that my uncle Luciano, who has a great sense of humour, told us yesterday:

Una ricercatrice universitaria faceva un’indagine sulla dieta regionale italiana.

A university researcher was doing an investigation into the Italian regional diet

Ha deciso di cominciare nel nord est del paese

She decided to begin in the north east of the country

Arrivata ad una fattoria nella campagna Veneta vede un vecchio contadino seduto sotto un albero che faceva colazione

Having arrived at a farm in the Veneto countryside she saw an old peasant sitting under a tree eating his breakfast

Mi scusi signore, sto facendo una ricerca sulla dieta Italiana. Le potrei fare qualche domanda, per cortesia?

Excuse me sir, I’m researching the Italian diet. Could I ask you a few questions please?

Certo, risponde il contadino

Of course, replied the peasant

Ecco, lei che cosa mangia di solito per colazione?

O.K., what do you eat for breakfast?

Polenta, risponde il contadino

Polenta, replied the peasant

E cosa mangia per pranzo?

And what do you eat for lunch?

Polenta, risponde il contadino

Polenta, replied the peasant

E invece per cena?

and for dinner?

Polenta, risponde il contadino

Polenta, replied the peasant

Mi scusi, chiede la ricercatrice, ma mangiando tutta questa polenta com’è la digestione?

Excuse me, asked the researcher, but with eating all that polenta how is your digestion?

Po’ lenta, risponde il contadino

A bit slow, replied the peasant (polenta becomes po’ = a bit, and lenta = slow)

In my last blog about the Antichi Mestieri there was a photo of il banco dei dolci, which showed a cook making il croccante (literally: the crunchy). A couple of days ago, per puro caso (by sheer chance), I came across this recipe. If you want to have a go at making il croccante at home here it is:

Ingredienti = Ingredients:

300 gr. di mandorle = 300 grams of almonds

300 gr. di zucchero bianco  = 300 grams of white sugar

1 cucchiaino di succo di limone = 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

2 cucchiai di acqua = 2 tablespoons of water

mezzo limone = half a lemon

Preparazione = Preparation:

Put the almonds in a saucepan with boiling water. Bring the water back to boiling point and then turn it off. Drain the almonds, remove the dark peel, and pat them dry. Spread the peeled almonds on a backing tray, and put the tray in a medium hot oven at 160 degrees C for about 5 minutes. Roughly chop half of the roasted almonds.

Put two tablespoons of water in a saucepan, add the sugar and the lemon juice, and put it over a very low heat, stirring all the time until the sugar caramelizes becoming a deep golden colour. Add all the almonds (both chopped and whole), and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Pour the mixture on an oiled marble surface (very common here in Italy, after all we have the famous marmo di Carrara = Carrara marble). If you don’t have a marble surface in your kitchen, you can use a baking tray or a large chopping board lined with greaseproof paper. Spread the caramel mixture and flatten it to a thickness of about one centimetre. Use half a lemon to rub the surface of the croccante, this will help to smooth it down. Leave the mixture to harden a bit, and then cut it into squares.

Variazioni =  Variations:

Instead of almonds you can use nocciole (hazelnuts), arachidi (peanuts), semi di sesamo (sesame seeds), or you can try and use your favourite type of nuts or seeds. Il croccante coi semi di sesamo (the sesame seeds crunchy) is usually thinner and paler in colour than that made with nuts.

Occhio ai denti! = mind your teeth! Warning: you’ll need strong teeth to be able to eat this hard and sticky sweet without any trouble!

It’s the season of plenty, fruit and vegetables in abundance, and it seems that everyone has too much of something!

Noi abbiamo troppe melanzane, un’amica nostra troppi pomodori, ed un’altra amica, l’Olga, troppi fichi. – We have too many aubergines/eggplants, a friend of ours too many tomatoes, and another friend, Olga, has too many figs.

Olga called us in desperation: ‘Per favore, venite a raccogliere dei fichi. Ho l’albero pieno, mio marito non li mangia, mio figlio non li mangia, a me piacciono molto ma non posso mica mangiarli tutti da sola.’ – ‘please come and pick some figs. My tree is full, my husband doesn’t eat them, my son doesn’t eat them, I love them but I can’t exactly eat them all on my own.

Well Geoff and I are matti per i fichi – mad about figs – so it didn’t take much persuasion. We decided to drive over to Olga’s place later in the afternoon when the solleone – lion sun – was a bit less intense. We’ve been having temperatures of over 40 degrees C = 104 degrees F – just lately, and didn’t fancy being roasted alive.

Olga was waiting for us with il suo cesto foderato di foglie di fico – her basket lined with fig leaves – and we set off down the parched hillside below their beautiful yellow ochre villetta to the shady place below il fico – the fig tree – where the golden fruit hung in abundance.

Mamma mia come sono buoni, sono proprio i migliori che abbiamo mai assaggiato  dalle nostre parti! – Wow, they are so good, really the best that we’ve ever tasted where we live!

Having filled il cesto we retreated to Olga’s shady terrazza for una tazza di tè, – a cup of tea -  yes, not very Italian I know but Olga insisted on making a pot of tea in Geoff’s honour.

Above: The fruits of our labour. See if you can you spot the cat in the first photo?

Now, what to do with all of those figs? As much as we love them we can’t eat them all without giving ourselves a serious mal di pancia – stomach ache! The solution:

Marmellata di Fichi

Pesate i fichi dopo averli privati del picciolo e il più possibile della buccia, e tagliateli in quarti – Weigh the figs after having first removed the leafstalk and as much as possible of the peel, and cut them in quarters

Metteteli in una ciotola capiente e, per ogni chilo di polpa dei fichi, aggiungete il succo di mezzo limone e duecento grammi di zucchero – Put them in a mixing bowl and, for each kilo of fig pulp, add the juice of half a lemon and two hundred grams of sugar

Mescolate bene e lasciate riposare per un paio d’ore – Mix well and leave it to rest for a couple of hours

Trasferite il contenuto della ciotola in una grossa pentola e fate cuocere per circa mezz’ora, mescolando spesso per non fare attaccare la marmellata – Transfer the content of the mixing bowl into a large saucepan, and cook for half an hour stirring often to prevent the jam from sticking to the bottom

Aggiungete altri duecento grammi di zucchero per ogni chilo di polpa dei fichi e fate cuocere finché la marmellata non ha raggiunto la giusta consistenza – Add another two hundred grams of sugar for each kilo of fig pulp and let it cook until the jam has reached the right consistency

Invasate la marmellata quando è ancora calda e sigillate i barattoli – Bottle the jam while it’s still hot and seal the jars

Gustate la marmellata di fichi durante i freddi e bui giorni invernali quando sentirete nostalgia per i profumi estivi – Enjoy the fig jam during the cold dark days of winter when you feel nostalgia for the smells of summer