Mămăligă
Romania’s golden polenta, cooked thick enough to slice, served with cheese and sour cream, or grilled as cheese-stuffed bulz.
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total
- 35 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Mămăligă was Romania’s daily bread for centuries, and the traditional version is cooked thick, turned out onto a wooden board, and sliced with a taut string, which works better than any knife.
Its best company is salty cheese and sour cream, and its best party trick is bulz: balls of mămăligă stuffed with cheese and grilled until the middle flows.
Mămăligă is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.
method
Bring the salted water to a boil in a heavy pot.
Pour in the cornmeal in a thin rain, whisking the whole time so no lumps form.
Lower the heat and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 25 to 30 minutes until very thick and pulling from the pot sides.
Beat in the butter, then turn the mămăligă out onto a wooden board in its dome.
Slice with a taut string or sturdy knife and serve hot with crumbled cheese and sour cream.
chef's tips
- The thin-rain pour plus constant whisking is the entire anti-lump technology.
- Proper mămăligă holds its shape on the board; loose polenta is a different food.
- For bulz, wrap handfuls around cubes of cheese and grill or bake until molten inside.