Parmesan Polenta

Need only 3-4 servings? Decrease everything by 50%, but taste carefully for seasoning at the end; you may need to add a little more salt and/or pepper. Use a four-quart heavy, lidded pan. I'd make all 6 servings and serve some fried eggs on top in the morning. Another idea is to make extra tomato sauce and serve a scoop on leftover polenta with lots of Parmigiano-Reggiano!

6 servings

Ingredients

3 cups each milk and water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal/polenta (I like Bob's Red Mill/also says "Corn Grits".)
3 tablespoons salted soft butter
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions

Off heat, whisk together milk, water, salt, pepper, and cornmeal in a heavy 6-quart pot. (I like cast iron.) Place pot over medium flame and bring to a healthy simmer. Cook, stirring regularly, until thickened. Lower heat as low as you can, cover and cook, stirring and tasting for doneness regularly, until tender and smooth--20-30 minutes total. (If polenta becomes thick, but isn’t cooked yet — tastes grainy/gritty– add more water or milk and continue to cook.) NOTE: Some polenta cooks more quickly. Check your package instructions, please.)
Remove from heat. Stir in butter and cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover to keep warm until needed. If cools and thickens, whisk in a little milk or water until thinned to desired texture and reheat, tasting once more at the end.

Notes

COOK’S NOTE ABOUT STIRRING and WHAT TO STIR WITH: I am not a slave to stirring my polenta continuously and nor should you be. While it cooked, I cooked the vegetables, watched a little tv, and gave the pot a lick and a promise with the whisk in between. I’m pretty addicted to the whisk for this chore but some people are really attached to a wooden spoon and even like stirring in one direction continually. I don’t have that sort of patience. You?