Soft Goat Cheese Polenta

Here's how I made the goat cheese polenta that went with yesterday's post about short ribs.

Soft Goat Cheese Polenta Yield: approximately 3 cups

2 cups water
1 cup cornmeal/polenta
3 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Season water with salt.
2. Whisk in cornmeal slowly. The mixture will start to cook and thicken immediately.
3. As the polenta thickens, reduce the heat so that the polenta is slowly and gently bubbling. You'll need to keep reducing the temperature as the polenta continues thickening.
4. Once the polenta resembles a thin porridge, remove it from the heat. Stir in goat cheese.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary.

Polenta is fairly forgiving, but it will thicken as it cools. So you may want to err on the side of a slightly thin polenta. If you think you've made it too thick, you can always add some liquid (water, milk, stock) until it is at the texture you like.  Of course, if it gets too thick to save, then you can always pour it into a greased pan and put it in the fridge to set. Once it firms up, you can pop out your polenta loaf, slice it into pieces and fry them to rewarm them. Equally yummy :)