Polenta with black truffle is a mountain dish in the fullest sense: cornmeal, the best part of an hour of stirring, and a luxury ingredient that grows a few metres from the front door. The polenta is cooked in salted water with a bay leaf, poured into a dish and left to cool — in fact it can, and should, be made the day before.
The next day it is sliced 1 cm thick and layered into individual baking dishes: a slice of polenta, béchamel, melting cheese, a blade of truffle, grated grana, then another slice of polenta and the same again. Into a hot oven until bubbling and stringy. It is the perfect dish for a crowded table, because all the work is done in advance and only the oven — and the truffle to shave in front of your guest — is left for the last minute.
This is one of the few truffle recipes that improves with planning: yesterday's polenta slices more cleanly and absorbs the béchamel better. Serve it as a winter one-dish meal with a warm, soft red. Leftover portions keep two days in the fridge and can be revived in a 180°C oven without losing their gratinated crust.
Ingredients
For the polenta
- Polenta Cornmeal: 500 g
- Water: 2,5 l
- Bay Leaf: 1
- Salt: to taste
For the layers
- Melting Cheese: 300 g
- Béchamel Sauce: 500 ml
- Grated Grana: 50 g
- Black Truffle: 50 g
- Butter: 60 g
Preparation
Cooking the polenta
Bring 2.5 l of water to the boil in a large pan with a little salt and a bay leaf. Rain in the cornmeal while working with a whisk to avoid lumps, until the polenta thickens.
Finishing the cooking
Swap the whisk for a wooden spatula and keep stirring so it does not catch on the bottom. Cook for at least half an hour.
Cooling
Pour the polenta into a buttered dish and leave to cool. For this reason the polenta can be cooked the day before.
Assembling the dishes
Butter individual ovenproof dishes (one per person). Slice the polenta about 1 cm thick to obtain 12 slices. In each dish place a slice of polenta, a spoonful of béchamel, a slice of melting cheese, a slice of truffle and a pinch of grated grana; top with a second slice of polenta and repeat the same layers.
Baking and serving
Bake in a very hot oven and, once bubbling and stringy, serve in the same dish, shaving the truffle to order in front of your guest.
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