Cooking School: Perfect Wet Polenta

That will make your Italian friends wonder how you do it

The Capsule Pantry in one sentence: Save money, time, and food waste by adopting a Capsule Pantry approach — a small number of ingredients that form the basis of thousands of different, highly flexible recipes.

Polenta is one of those wonder starches I wish I had discovered before my thirties.

It took a while to perfect this recipe, but now I have the best ratio for water to milk to polenta to ensure you get deliciously smooth, not-too-wet-not-too-firm polenta every single time.

• 75g / half cup polenta

• 75ml / one third cup / 2.5 fluid oz milk

• 350ml / 1.5 cups / 12 fluid oz water

• Pinch salt

• 25g / 1/8 cup / 1oz each butter and parmesan (or more if you prefer)

Heat up the water, milk, and a generous pinch of salt in a saucepan.

When it simmers (but not boiling), add the polenta slowly, continuously stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps.

The mixture will start to thicken, turning into a gloriously gloopy mess.

If it becomes lumpy, try using a whisk instead of a wooden spoon.

The simmering time will depend on your polenta but most brands take around 5 minutes.

Once it’s looking soft and it’s coming away from the sides of the pan, add the butter and parmesan. Serve once both have melted.