Yes, polenta shares some of the lowly upbringing of American grits.
Both first gained a reputation as peasant fare — polenta pounded from grain into a staple porridge for ancient farmers and Roman legions, grits a rough corn gruel feeding generations in the deep south.
As gourmands began rediscovering the simple beauty of common favorites over the past few decades, talented chefs responded. After all, the tame flavor offers them a palette to work with while the hearty nature provides guests a fulfilling experience.
The creamy feta polenta at Black Rock Golf Course in Cobb is an example of both the dish’s versatility and its well-deserved place in the fine dining pantheon.
Chef Matthew Metcalf brings the polenta toward a boil in vegetable stock, stirring in some grana padano and finishing the pot with rosemary. He then roasts red peppers and juliennes them into strips. To complete the dish, he chops a gremolata of Meyer lemon.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” he says with a laugh.
Metcalf lends the coarse ground corn an artful, rich character without sacrificing the subtle sweetness in the grain. It soothes the bite of herbs and cheese. To complete the base presentation, he tosses on some crumbles of feta — a light snippet of brine that bounds and echoes the grana padano.
“Getting salt in the polenta in different ways rounds it out,” the chef explained.
Black Rock offers the dish with rosemary grilled chicken breast, white prawns or Italian sausage. The latter is assertive, reveling in its spicy nature. Yet the taunts of biting and herbal seasoning seems to please the polenta. The combination becomes a siren, impossible to resist.
“I’m Italian, so I can’t mess around with my Italian sausage,” Metcalf pointed out.
It may be a consummate concept. In polenta is comfort, an approachable staple that traces back through centuries of collective memory. In Metcalf’s gifted technique is an elevated sense of cuisine — flavors that are emotive, empathetic, sedulous and in a concord so extraordinary the dish may even be considered symphonic. In other words, it satisfies guests looking for a simple, hearty meal yet engages those seeking a culinary experience.
Yes, this is still polenta — a roughhewn porridge to feed the masses. But consider how chefs have elevated other common dishes. Once upon a time people shucked oysters from rickety wooden shacks. For decades bacon could only be found crackling on the blackened grills of roadside diners.
Polenta is part of a culinary renaissance. Black Rock is one of its finest chapels.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
