Nonna's Kitchen 9 - Polenta and Spare Ribs

In the past few years, two major trends have redefined Italian cuisine as we know it, especially in Italy itself. The Slow Food movement has been garnering quite a lot of press lately - essentially, Slow Food promotes a diet of meals prepared slowly and carefully from ingredients of the highest quality. The Slow Food Movement began in Italy in 1986 as a direct response to the outrage Italians expressed at the opening of the first McDonald's in Italy - at the base of the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna in Rome - and now has over 100,000 members in 132 countries worldwide. Heirloom vegetables, artisanal cheeses, locally raised and organic proteins all feature prominently in the Slow Food movement. Members believe in celebrating traditional regional cuisines, supporting independent farmers over agribusiness and promoting responsible buying at supermarkets in addition to local farmers' markets and the like. All of these concepts are quite popular in the United States as well, particularly as we continue to recognize the benefits of a healthy diet. Slow Food is, at its core, a revolution against the homogenization of cuisine and culture that continues to spread as large fast food chains multiply their franchises worldwide. It's a stand against the "dumbing down" of our food.

The second food trend gaining prominence is that of Cucina Povera - literally "poor peoples' food." The basic tenet of Cucina Povera is a diet rich in vegetables both cooked and raw, grains and nuts, fresh fish where possible, olive oil, good bread and wine; with milk, cheese, butter and meat serving as seasonings or garnishes rather than staples. As the name implies, this diet is based upon that of poor farmers - people we perceive to be hearty, healthy working folk – and it’s the basis of the so-called "Mediterranean Diet." Cucina Povera's popularity is in some respects a reaction to the same health concerns that guide the Slow Food Movement. We know that a diet rich in fatty, over processed foods laden with sugar can lead to all sorts of health problems, especially when combined with the lack of exercise that modern life imposes on so many of us. Cucina Povera is both healthy and frugal, since produce in season is generally quite affordable.

Restaurateurs in Italy have discovered that nearly everyone - locals and tourists alike - have great affection for the recipes associated with Cucina Povera. Things like Tortellini and Cappelletti - small stuffed pastas most often served in broth - grace the menus of even the finest restaurants; these pastas originated in the Emilia-Romagna region of central Italy when humble farmers hoarded bits of cheese and scraps of meat to make a special meal for any number of religious festivals. The pasta and broth stretched tiny quantities of the pricier ingredients so everyone could have a taste. Even now, when ingredients are cheap and plentiful for those of us in the developed world, Cappelletti is served in our family only for Christmas and New Year's; we could have it any time, but we save it, insuring that it's special. The end result is that humble foods command big prices on menus as we celebrate the ways of our forefathers.

Bringing things full circle into the meals of my childhood, we come to polenta, a staple of Cucina Povera. Polenta, for the uninitiated, is most easily described as Italian grits. It is made from coarsely ground cornmeal, simmered in water or milk over the stovetop and served as the filling starch in many meals. Polenta is much more common than pasta in northern Italy, where corn was cultivated beginning in the 16th century. When I was growing up, we had polenta and pasta in nearly equal quantities, as my family's cuisine combined both that of my grandfather's Venetian heritage and my grandmother's Emilia-Romagna roots. Polenta is made from both white and yellow corn varieties and it is served in varied consistencies, from a soft mush to something resembling mashed potatoes to polenta so firm that it can be sliced and grilled or fried. Much like the risotto recipes I featured a few weeks ago, polenta isn't a start it and forget it food - it requires attentive and regular stirring, so some time at the stove is required. (Slow Foodies must love the stuff!) You can buy prepared polenta in the refrigerated cases of most grocery stores, but the flavor is a little chemical to my palate. And, just like oatmeal and potatoes, there's an instant version that cooks in just 5 minutes - please, don't bother, as the results are about the same - bland, nearly tasteless imitations of the real thing. Most of my Italian cookbooks state that it takes 45 minutes to an hour for polenta to cook, but in reality, it's ready to go in just 20 minutes if you modify the recipe a little. Polenta can be purchased in bulk in many organic food stores, and small packages are available in most supermarkets under the Bob's Red Mill brand.

Polenta can be served with just about anything, from sautéed mushrooms or vegetables to a hearty tomato sauce or Italian sausages. In my family, however, we had it most often with baccala - salt cod stewed in tomatoes (one of my favorite foods for which I'll share the recipe here someday) - and pot roast. Pot roast is a catch all term, and could be beef chuck, whole or cut up chicken, lamb shanks, short ribs or spare ribs. I'm featuring spare ribs here because they're my father's favorite; like many of my recipes, this is a basic cooking method that can be adapted to use with just about any protein, so long as it's one that will benefit from a low, slow braise. The herbs, garlic and cooking juices of the meat perfume the polenta when they're served together, and the result is comfort food at its finest!

The Recipe:
Polenta
Serves 4

Cooking time: approximately 30 minutes

Traditional Italian polenta is cooked in a copper pot; it's stirred constantly with a perforated wooden spoon until it readily pulls away from the sides of the pot - 45 minutes to an hour. It is placed into a large round bottomed bowl and allowed to cool and set for 10-15 minutes, then turned out onto a wooden cutting board and sliced with a string. In this updated method, a nonstick saucepan or wok pan and a bit of olive oil prevents the sticking so that the polenta is ready in as little as 20 minutes. Serving suggestions follow.

Ingredients:
1 C dried polenta
3 C water
1-2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)

Bring the water to a boil in a large nonstick saucepan, add the salt and olive oil, then add the polenta in a slow stream, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring regularly with a silicone spatula to prevent sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan. You'll know that you've got the heat correct when the polenta bubbles occasionally (like the mud pots in Yellowstone Park!) When you've reached the consistency of thick porridge, you have a few options for serving; you can pour it into a bowl and turn it out onto a cutting board to cut it with string in the traditional manner, or you can simply cover the pan and let it rest for ten minutes then serve it with a large spoon. Finally, you can pour the polenta out onto a large jelly roll pan greased liberally with olive oil, let the polenta cool for several hours until it's firm and then slice it into squares or triangles for grilling. This last method obviously requires some planning, but the charred bits can be particularly good, especially when the grilling is done on the barbecue.

Leftover polenta is the best breakfast in the world! Slice cold polenta into 1/2" thick slabs, fry it in butter until the outsides are crispy and lightly browned, then serve with warm maple syrup. I ALWAYS make extra so I can have leftovers. YUM!

The Recipe:
Pot Roasted Spare Ribs
Serves 4

Total prep and cooking time: 2-3 hours, depending on the cut of meat used

Beef spare ribs or Texas style ribs work well for this recipe. I use this recipe most frequently for chicken thighs, but really any hearty meat is fine. If you're using lamb, try changing the rosemary to oregano, mint and marjoram for a distinctly Greek flavor.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. spare ribs (this allows for normal portions when you take the weight of the bones into account)
5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 C. cooking olive oil
1 tsp. dried rosemary (or more to taste)
1/2 C. water or light chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Coat the bottom of a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the garlic, stirring frequently to prevent burning. (If you burn the garlic, throw it away, wash the pan and start over! The flavor will not make anyone happy.) Add the spare ribs and brown them slightly; you're not looking for a heavy seared crust, just a little color. Be sure and keep the ribs and garlic moving so the garlic doesn't burn! (Did I mention burnt garlic tastes lousy?) Add the rosemary, crushing the leaves in your palms to release the essential oils; salt and pepper the meat liberally, then stir to distribute the seasoning. Add the liquid - you can also add a splash of white wine if you like, though my mother never does - reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pan and let it cook until the meat falls readily off the bone - probably around 2 hours. Don't let the pot dry out - check it occasionally and add a little liquid if necessary. Serve with a large spoon so you can pour a little of the cooking juices over your polenta.

Cut up chicken cooked with this method will generally take just 90 minutes, and it's best to plan on the full three hours with pork. This recipe is a staple for my mother because it's so simple, and little changes in the seasoning make big changes in the flavor. Leftovers are great, too, and this is a dish that you can prepare a day ahead and warm up on the stovetop when time is short.

Mangia, mangia, fatte grande!