The Copycat Chef: Fried Polenta (Scagluzzoli)
Posted by bellastraniera - 30/06/09 at 02:06 pm
It’s thrilling to find that the addictive Italian street snack scagluzzoli, or fried polenta, is finally hitting restaurants in New York. The Standard Grill, Tonda, and several other places now have fried polenta on the menu, but unfortunately, New York versions are often too fancified to be considered a snack of the people. Unlike the plain fried polenta in Florence, here it’s often cut into fancy wedges or gussied up with extraneous ingredients like basil and artisanal cheese. This is bad enough, but to fry polenta so that it’s limp, not crispy? Utter blasphemy.
To clear away several misconceptions: Modern Italian food does not have to be complicated. Most Italian home cooks – and street food cooks – do not spend an hour making polenta from the grain itself; they make almost identical polenta with the instant, three-minute kind. Also, you don’t have to lovingly pan fry everything in extra virgin olive oil all the time, every time: in this case, the best method is to use light oil and deep fry.
Recipe: Fried Polenta (Scagluzzoli)
1 package instant polenta
2 tbsp. sea salt
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. cornstarch
1 750 ml bottle light olive oil
more sea salt
Prepare the instant polenta according to package directions: add salt to 2 liters (about 8 1/2 cups) water and bring to a boil. Whisking constantly, pour the polenta into the boiling water in a slow stream. Keep whisking as you turn down the heat to medium and be careful not to get hit by splattering hot polenta. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in extra-virgin olive oil.
Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan (aka brownie pan) and ladle the (slightly cooled) polenta in, spreading it evenly. Smooth down the top with a wet spatula and cover with wax paper. Let it cool completely. (You can refrigerate it at this point and continue cooking later – just make sure the polenta is at room temperature before starting the next step.)
Pour the oil into a deep fryer or saucepan affixed with a candy thermometer. Heat over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees. Meanwhile, cut the cooled polenta into 2-in. x 2-in. cubes. Dredge 5 of them in cornstarch, shaking off excess, and carefully place them in the oil with a mesh ladle or slotted spoon. Expect an initial upsurge in the temperature, and after that try to keep it steady at 350 degrees. Stir to make sure the cubes aren’t sticking together. Fry for 5 minutes or until they start to brown at the edges and the surface feels hard when pressed with the back of a spoon.
Drain on the fried polenta cubes on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt. Continue cooking in batches of 5 or so cubes (allow longer cooking time if you cook more cubes per batch). Serve in a brown paper bag with the edges rolled down.
Makes 48 cubes.
Note: If you must add extra ingredients to the polenta before frying, do so sparingly! These scagluzzoli are very nice served plain to soak up a fancy sauce, or as an alternative to a bread basket. Like doughnuts, they are best piping hot but not bad cold, either.
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- The Copycat Chef: Raw Tomato Soup With Garlic Croutons
- The Copycat Chef: Mussels with Bacon and Peas from Angus McIndoe
- The Copycat Chef: Tia Pol’s Deviled Eggs with Smoked Paprika
bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
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