Fried polenta is something that has been a constant part of my life for as long as I can remember. I could even say I was born and raised in the capital of fried polenta: São Bernardo do Campo, in the heart of a huge industrial hub on the outskirts of São Paulo, almost like a Brazilian Birmingham. In this city, there is a neighbourhood founded by Italian immigrants called Demarchi.
Curiously enough, this area became famous from the 70s until the early 90s for its huge restaurants serving Italian-Brazilian classics, but most of all, chicken and polenta. The main street was famously known as the Chicken & Polenta Route. Nice.
I remember going to these restaurants with my family and getting absurd amounts of food. Chicken, sometimes fried, sometimes stewed, cappelletti soup and, always, fried polenta. It was part of our weekend plans, even when we got it to take away. I also remember that, in order to get to Demarchi, we had to take a 20 minute drive on the highway. This was my favourite part. I always asked to sit in the front because I knew my dad would be driving a bit above the speed limit, blasting rock n’ roll and, for a young boy, that was about as good as it gets.
Fried polenta is, essentially, a way of using leftovers from the day before. As it cools down, the starch in the cornmeal sets, turning what was once creamy into a solid block. From there, it’s pretty easy to imagine that one of the first things to come to one’s mind was to cut it and throw it in hot oil. Creating, then, something unique.
Coming to Madrid and introducing this at Gota felt a bit risky at the time. It wasn’t something people really knew, at least not the people around me. To my surprise, it was an immediate hit. Years later, it’s still the thing we sell the most.
When we opened Flor, it felt important to make a small nod to polenta. As a link to what we’ve done before, to the people who’ve been with us from the beginning, but also as a quiet way of saying we’re doing something different here. It carries the same spirit, the same values, just seen from another angle.
Our version of it, however, is coming to an end. By the end of next week we’ll introduce something different as a starter, saying goodbye to a classic. It’s time to move on and create an identity of our own.
So, here’s the recipe to our Fried Polenta:
· 750g Cornmeal for Polenta
· 750g Milk
· 3000g Water, filtered
· 40g Salt, fine
· 215g Butter, cubed, cold
Bring the Water, Milk and Salt to a boil. Once boiling, slowly add the Polenta little by little whisking to make sure everything is incorporated well. Reduce the heat to medium/low.
Continue working the polenta until it becomes quite hard. Change to the spatula and continue working a little more, about 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and incorporate the butter using the whisk again. Once all the butter has melted, put a little water in a gastro and transfer the polenta. Let it cool to room temperature. Transfer to the fridge with weight on top for one night.
On the next day, cut it into 3x3cm squares. Fry it at 190ºC for 6 minutes.
