Polenta an old Italian dish we will teach how to prepare at the cooking classes in Tuscany.

As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as puls or pulmentum in Latin or more commonly as gruel or porridge), commonly eaten since Roman times. Before the introduction of corn from the New World in the 16th century, polenta was made with such starchy ingredients as farro, chestnut flour, millet, spelt, or chickpeas. (Wikipedia)

Polenta has a creamy texture due to the gelatinization of starch in the grain. However, it may not be completely homogeneous if a coarse grind or hard grain such as flint corn is used.

Historically, polenta was served as a peasant food in North America and Europe. The reliance on maize, which lacks readily accessible niacin unless cooked with alkali to release it, as a staple caused outbreaks of pellagra throughout the American South and much of Europe until the 20th century. In the 1940s and 1950s, polenta was often eaten with salted anchovy or herring, sometimes topped with sauces. Also look at the explanation by Julie on Huffingtonpost

Tuscookany found some great recipes on line:

How To Cook Polenta: The Only Recipe You Will Ever Need by Rebecca Huffingtonpost and 29 Best Polenta Recipes on Cookinglight. A explanation by David Tanis about Basic Polenta in the nytimes.

In the Tuscookany cookbook "The flavours of Tuscany" we have the Polenta al sugo Toscano on page 106.

Happy cooking!!