polenta with black-eye peas

 

Polenta milled from organic popcorn. I understand this is not the best corn for polenta, but I have never had the best so I have no basis for comparison. In fact, I have nothing at all for comparison, so for me this is what polenta is. Maybe one day I'll get a bag of that otto file (eight rows) and see for myself what all the whoop-de-do is about the real deal-io.  Apparently it is an heirloom variety cultivated either by a single farmer, or a single family, in the piedmont area of Italy. A Constricted climate, a persnickety variety with unique demands, and with a very low yield. Therefore very expensive.  

Or maybe I'll get some of that Spin Rossa della Valsugana which is closer to home and more accessible. But for now, popcorn it is. 

I broke the coffee grinder again. This is the third coffee grinder, and its the third time I broke this one. I guess I am a little bit hard on coffee grinders. Eh, I'll just get another one. I should show you what happened. The corn was so viciously dense that it broke off bits of the coffee grinder lid that fits inside the grinding bowl. The seeds smashed into it so violently that it chewed off tiny bits of the inside rim making it look like an architectural dentine pattern. But that meant there were little pieces of plastic in the milled corn so I had to discard the whole batch.  It also meant I had to drag out the Nutrimill and clean it afterwards. While the Nutrimill was out, I decided to mill peppercorn along with the corn. And while I was at it milling peppercorn along with the corn, I might as well go ahead and mill cumin seed, coriander seed, fennel, and sea salt. So this milled polenta is unlike any other polenta in the universe, and it will never be duplicated. 

Polenta

*  One cup ground corn 

*  Two cups duck stock (aspic)

( all the seasonings are already in the ground corn so nothing else was added)

Beans and rice

*  1/2 Cup black-eye peas

*  1/2 Cup brown rice

*  1/4 Teaspoon sea salt

Cooked in a pressure cooker for 35 minutes. 

Sauce

*  1  Tablespoon butter

*  1 Level tablespoon A/P flour

*  S/P

*  1/2 teaspoon generic curry

*  1/4 teaspoon Thai curry

1  Cup duck stock (aspic) 

To plate

*  1  OZ. Edam cheese

*  1/4 small onion, finely diced 

*  6  basil leaves