Polenta Polenta is made from cornmeal and probably dates back further than any dish in Italian cuisine. It was a staple of life in Roman times when it was called is made from cornmeal and probably dates back further than any dish in Italian cuisine. It was a staple of life in Roman times when it was called pulmentum pulmentum or puls.At that time, polenta was probably made of barley and later of wheat. When corn was brought to Europe from North America, polenta became the dish it is today. or puls.At that time, polenta was probably made of barley and later of wheat. When corn was brought to Europe from North America, polenta became the dish it is today.

In most Northern Italian kitchens, polenta is more than a food, it is a rite. It was made originally in a large copper kettle called a paiolo paiolo. The kettle was suspended from a thick chain directly over a burning fire. No country kitchen, no matter how poor, was without a fireplace. In the cities, polenta was made on a charcoal- or wood-burning stove.While the woman of the house stirred the cornmeal mixture, the family gathered around, talking and sipping wine.

I remember as a very young girl during wartime, sometimes, somehow, my family would get cornmeal.Then all of us gathered around the stove to watch my mother engage in the ritual of polenta making. She would reach inside the copper kettle and stir the mixture constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon. And when the golden polenta was poured onto a large, wooden board, it resembled a steaming yellow moon.

Polenta is almost never served by itself. It usually accompanies meat, poultry, fish, cheese or rich sauces. Polenta can be fried, baked, broiled or eaten simply with b.u.t.ter and cheese. When you make polenta, be sure to cook it over medium heat and stir it with a long-handled wooden spoon.The long handle is necessary because polenta will bubble and spit while it thickens.This may leave you with some unwanted tiny burns if you are stirring directly over the kettle.

Polenta is a satisfying food, perfect for cold winter nights, for informal dinners, robust appet.i.tes and good company.

Risotto When I started teaching in California a few years ago, I was amazed at the number of people who had never tasted or heard of risotto risotto. Risotto is an important part of Northern Italian cuisine and in many regions is more popular than pasta.

Risotto is produced by cooking rice in a particular way, with a technique that is uniquely Northern Italian. Italy is the greatest producer of rice in Europe. It is also one of the largest consumers. There are many kinds of risotto, made with the same technique but with different ingredients. Risotto can be made with herbs, vegetables, cheese, sausages, sh.e.l.lfish and many other ingredients. But what is a risotto exactly?

A risotto is rice that is first sauteed briefly with chopped onions in b.u.t.ter. Then enough hot chicken broth is added to cover the rice. The rice is cooked and stirred until the broth is absorbed.Then more broth is added. It is important to stir constantly or the rice will stick.This technique will produce a delicious, creamy risotto with each grain of rice tender yet firm to the bite.

Italian rice, which is thick and short-grained, is perfect for risotto. The best-known exported Italian rice is arborio arborio. It is available in Italian groceries and gourmet shops. Short-grain California pearl rice can be used in place of Italian rice. It is similar to the rice used in Italy. Do not select short-grain rice coated with glucose and talc. It is sticky when cooked and is processed for the Asian market. Do not wash short-grain California pearl rice or any rice that you use for risotto.

Risotto should be made at the last moment or it will dry out, and reheating makes it become soft and mushy. If you have all the ingredients arranged on a tray and the broth is piping hot, it will be very simple to cook a risotto. A risotto is always served as a first course and is only rarely served with meat. One meat dish it is served with is Veal Shanks Milan Style, page 151.

In the summer of 1980, my husband and I took a gastronomical tour through Northern Italy. Wherever we went, risotto appeared on menus as often as pasta, in incredibly varied and mouthwatering concoctions.

After you have cooked several risottos, I know you will feel as I do, completely hooked on this marvelous Northern Italian dish.

BASIC POTATO DUMPLINGS.

Gnocchi di Patate Transform the humble potato into a melt-in-your-mouth dumpling.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS MAKES 8 SERVINGS 8 medium potatoes, preferably russets 8 medium potatoes, preferably russets 1 egg yolk 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon salt 2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vegetable oil cup b.u.t.ter cup b.u.t.ter cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F (175C). With a fork, puncture potatoes in several places. Bake 1 hour or until tender. Remove insides of baked potatoes; discard skins. Mash hot potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl; let cool slightly.

Add egg yolk, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 cups flour; mix well. Put potato mixture on a working surface or wooden board and knead into a ball. Mixture should be soft and pliable and slightly sticky. If it is too sticky, add more flour. Lightly flour working surface and your hands.

Break dough into pieces the size of large eggs. Shape pieces into rolls about the thickness of your thumb. Cut rolls into 1-inch pieces. Hold a fork with its tines resting on a work surface at a 45 angle and the inside curve toward you.Take a dumpling roll and press it with your index finger against the outside curve of the fork at the tip end. Quickly slide dumpling up and along the length of the tines, pressing with index finger. Remove finger and let dumpling fall back onto work surface. Grooves made by fork and finger indentation will absorb any sauce served with dumplings. Repeat with remaining dumpling rolls. Arrange dumplings on a floured tray or large plate.

Fill a large saucepan two-thirds full with salted water. Bring water to a boil. Add oil and dumplings. When dumplings come to surface of water, cook 10 to 12 seconds. If dumplings remain in water any longer they will absorb water and become too soft. Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon or strainer, draining against side of saucepan. Place in a warm dish. Serve hot with b.u.t.ter and Parmesan cheese or your favorite sauce.

Variation Potatoes can be boiled instead of baked. Do not puncture potatoes before cooking or they will absorb water, making it necessary to add extra flour to dumpling mixture.

POTATO DUMPLINGS WITH GORGONZOLA SAUCE.

Gnocchi di Patate al Gorgonzola There is no subst.i.tute for the distinctive flavor of Gorgonzola.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS MAKES 8 SERVINGS Basic Potato Dumplings, page 78 Basic Potato Dumplings, page 78 cup b.u.t.ter cup b.u.t.ter cup whipping cream cup whipping cream pound Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled pound Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vegetable oil cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Mix and shape Basic Potato Dumplings.

Melt b.u.t.ter in a large skillet.When b.u.t.ter foams, add cream and bring to a boil. Add Gorgonzola cheese. Stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes over low heat, until cheese is melted and cream begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill a large saucepan two-thirds full with salted water. Bring water to a boil. Add oil and dumplings.When dumplings come to surface of water, cook 10 to 12 seconds.

Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon or strainer, draining against side of saucepan. Place dumplings in sauce. Gently stir in Parmesan cheese. Cook 30 to 40 seconds or until dumplings are coated with sauce. Serve immediately.

POTATO DUMPLINGS WITH PESTO SAUCE.

Gnocchi di Patate col Pesto For perfect dumplings, use starchy potatoes not waxy ones.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS MAKES 8 SERVINGS Basic Potato Dumplings, page 78 Basic Potato Dumplings, page 78 cup Pesto Sauce, page 205 cup Pesto Sauce, page 205 10 whole walnuts 10 whole walnuts 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Mix and shape Basic Potato Dumplings. Prepare Pesto Sauce and let stand at room temperature. Chop walnuts very fine.

Fill a large saucepan two-thirds full with salted water. Bring water to a boil. Add oil and dumplings.When dumplings come to surface of water, cook 10 to 12 seconds.

Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon or strainer, draining against side of saucepan. Place on a warm platter. Add b.u.t.ter, Pesto Sauce and chopped walnuts; mix gently. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese.

RICOTTA DUMPLINGS WITH MIXED MUSHROOMS AND PROSCIUTTO SAUCE.

Gnocchi di Ricotta ai Funghi Misti e Prosciutto Mushrooms cooked this way, become even more flavorful-great over gnocchi or pasta.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS 1 pound whole-milk ricotta 1 pound whole-milk ricotta 1 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 1 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Mixed Mushrooms and Prosciutto Sauce cup olive oil cup olive oil pound mixed mushrooms, such as pound mixed mushrooms, such as white cultivated mushrooms, brown white cultivated mushrooms, brown mushrooms, chanterelles or shiitake, mushrooms, chanterelles or shiitake, wiped clean and thinly sliced wiped clean and thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 4 anchovy fillets, chopped 4 anchovy fillets, chopped pound sliced prosciutto, page 4, cut pound sliced prosciutto, page 4, cut into small strips into small strips cup dry white wine cup dry white wine Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine ricotta with flour and salt; mix well with your hands to incorporate. Put the mixture on a wooden board and knead gently into a ball. At this point the dough should be smooth, soft and pliable and just a bit sticky. Knead in a little extra flour if dough is too sticky.

Flour the board lightly and break the dough into pieces the size of a small orange. Shape pieces into rolls about the thickness of your thumb. Cut rolls into 1-inch pieces. Hold a fork with its tines resting against a work surface at a 45 angle and the inside curve toward you.Take a little dumpling and press it with your index finger against the outside curve of the fork at the tip end. Quickly slide dumpling up along the length of the tines, pressing with the index finger. Remove finger and let dumpling fall back onto work surface. (Groves made by fork and finger indentation will absorb the sauce.) Repeat with remaining dumplings. Arrange dumplings on a floured tray or large plate. (Dumplings can be prepared several hours or a day ahead of time and refrigerated uncovered.)

Prepare sauce: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the skillet or the mushrooms will "stew" instead of browning. Saute over high heat, stirring, until they begin to color. Add the garlic, anchovies and prosciutto and stir once or twice. Add the wine. Cook and stir until the wine is almost all reduced. Season with salt and several twists of pepper.

Meanwhile fill a very large saucepan two-thirds full with salted water. Bring water to a boil. Add the gnocchi.When gnocchi come back to the surface of the water cook 20 to 30 seconds.

Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon or strainer, draining against the side of saucepan. Place gnocchi in skillet with mushrooms. Add the b.u.t.ter and the gnocchi, sprinkle with parsley and mix well. Serve at once.

SWISS CHARD AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI.

Gnocchi di Bietola e Ricotta The leaves of fresh Swiss chard, boiled and chopped very fine, give color and a somewhat sweeter flavor to this cla.s.sic gnocchi. Traditionally, the favorite "sauce" for these gnocchi, is simply sweet, unsalted b.u.t.ter and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Fresh spinach can be used instead of Swiss chard.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS Swiss Chard and Ricotta Gnocchi Swiss Chard and Ricotta Gnocchi 1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard 1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard 1 large egg 1 large egg 1 pound ricotta 1 pound ricotta cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons salt 1 to 1 cups all-purpose flour 1 to 1 cups all-purpose flour Sauce 3 to 4 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 3 to 4 tablespoons b.u.t.ter to to cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Prepare gnocchi: Remove Swiss chard leaves from stems, and reserve stems for another use. Wash leaves thoroughly in several changes of cold water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add Swiss chard and cook uncovered until leaves are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain chard and cool. Squeeze leaves with your hands to remove as much water as possible. Place leaves on a cutting board and chop them very fine. (The leaves can also be chopped in a food processor; be careful not to puree them.) Makes approximately cup chopped chard.

Break egg in a large bowl and beat it with a fork. Add chard and mix well with egg. Add ricotta, Parmigiano, salt and 1 cups of flour. Make dough and shape gnocchi as instructed in Basic Ricotta Gnocchi, page 85.

Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and gnocchi. Cook uncovered over high heat until gnocchi rise to surface of the water, 1 to 2 minutes.

While gnocchi are cooking, make sauce: Melt b.u.t.ter in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove gnocchi with a large slotted spoon or a skimmer, draining off excess water against side of pot, and place in skillet. Season lightly with salt and add about half of the Parmigiano. Stir over medium heat until gnocchi and b.u.t.ter are well combined. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with remaining Parmigiano.

BASIC RICOTTA GNOCCHI.

Gnocchi di Ricotta MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS 1 pound whole-milk ricotta 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten in a small bowl 1 large egg, lightly beaten in a small bowl 1 to 1 cups all-purpose flour 1 to 1 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with 1 cup of flour. Mix well with your hands until ricotta and flour are evenly incorporated and mixture sticks together into a rough dough.

Transfer mixture to a wooden board and knead lightly, gradually adding remaining flour if dough sticks heavily to board and to your hands. Knead dough 2 to 3 minutes, dusting it lightly with flour if needed, until dough is smooth, pliable and just a bit sticky.

Cut off a piece of dough, about size of an orange. Flour your hands lightly. (Do not flour working area or dough will not slide smoothly.) Using both hands, roll out piece of dough with a light back-and-forth motion into a roll of about the thickness of your index finger. Cut roll into 1-inch pieces.

Hold a fork with its tines against a work board, curved part of fork facing away from you. Starting from curved outside bottom of fork, press each piece of dough with your index finger firmly upward along length of tines. Let gnocchi fall back onto work surface. Repeat with remaining dough until all gnocchi have been formed.

Line a large tray with a clean kitchen towel and flour towel lightly. Arrange gnocchi on towel without crowding them.They can be cooked immediately or kept in refrigerator for several hours.

Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and gnocchi. Cook uncovered over high heat until gnocchi rise to surface of the water, 1 to 2 minutes.

BASIC POLENTA.

Polenta An ancient dish that was and still is a staple in the Northern Italian diet.

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

9 cups water 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon salt 3 cups coa.r.s.e-grain cornmeal 3 cups coa.r.s.e-grain cornmeal

Bring water to a boil in a large heavy pot. Add salt and reduce heat until water is simmering. Take cornmeal by the handful and add to water very slowly, controlling the flow to a thin stream through your fingers. To avoid lumps, stir quickly with a long-handled wooden spoon while adding cornmeal. If necessary, stop adding cornmeal from time to time and beat mixture vigorously. Cook, stirring constantly, 20 to 30 minutes. Polenta will become very thick while cooking. It is done when it comes away cleanly from sides of pot.

Pour polenta onto a large wooden board or a large platter.Wet your hands and smooth out polenta evenly about 2 inches thick. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes or until polenta solidifies. Cut cooled polenta into slices 1 inch wide and 6 inches long. Place slices in individual dishes. Serve hot, covered with your favorite sauce.

Variation Fried Polenta (Polenta Fritta) Prepare Basic Polenta and let cool completely. Cut cooled polenta into slices 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. Pour oil about 1 inch deep in a large skillet. Heat oil until a 1-inch cube of bread turns golden almost immediately. Fry polenta slices on both sides until light golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

BAKED POLENTA WITH BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE.

Polenta Pasticciata A satisfying dish for robust appet.i.tes on a cold night with good company.