Polenta with Persona

Image courtesy of Bea De Giacomo.

When she’s not using photography as a means of capturing the doting dynamic between humans and the natural world, Bea De Giacomo basks in the savory familiarity of an age-old family recipe. The Milan-based photographer gives thanks to her quirky yet charming Italian grandmother for this novel dish, which she calls Polenta Della Nonna Nanda. “I thought it was something typical, but when I grew up I realized we were the only family eating polenta this way,” De Giacomo tells Family Style.

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Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 cups of polenta flour
• 1 wheel of Gorgonzola
• 4 eggs
• Stick of butter
• ½ cup grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Boil salted water. When it boils, add a teaspoon of oil and pour in the polenta flour, stirring constantly to avoid creating lumps.
2. Lower the heat and continue stirring in the same direction. The polenta will be ready in about half an hour. The polenta should not be liquid, but firm.
3. Serve the polenta on the tafferia, the typical polenta wooden plate.
4. Cut it with the appropriate wooden knife and place a slice on each diner's plate, then a slide of gorgonzola, then another slice of polenta. 
5. Gorgonzola will melt a bit. Then with a spoon create a hole on the top and put a raw egg yolk.
6. In a small pan melt some butter: it must start to color. Sprinkle everything with the melted butter and grated parmesan.