Polenta with Cheese

How to prepare polenta with cheese

1. Prepare the polenta by putting cold water, cornmeal, and salt (about 1 level teaspoon) in a pot. Mix well and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Stir the polenta with a wooden spoon while it cooks. The polenta is ready when it's soft but pulls away from the sides of the pot when you stir.
2. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Put them in a small pan and fry over low heat until the bacon releases plenty of fat and the cubes become crispy.
3. Cut the smoked meat into cubes or strips and fry them separately over low heat until crispy.
4. Grease an oven-safe dish well with the bacon fat. Place a layer of polenta on the bottom of the dish. Drizzle the polenta with a little bacon fat and if you like (I always do 😉 ) sprinkle some crispy bacon cubes (as many as your heart desires, they're really good). Sprinkle smoked meat cubes as well. Then add a generous layer of cheese. Repeat the layers: polenta greased with bacon fat, then bacon + smoked meat, then cheese... until you fill the dish. The last layer should be polenta greased with fat.
   * I used 4 individual oven-safe dishes, but a Pyrex dish works great too
6. Bake the polenta in the oven at 200°C for 15 minutes.
7. Serve the polenta with cheese hot, sprinkled with feta-style cheese and drizzled with sour cream. Since I used oven-safe dishes, I turned them upside down onto plates and grated cheese on top. It looks great presented this way.

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