Cuneo, Piedmont
Not the Ligurian chickpea farinata but the Piemontese cornmeal farinata — a thick, sweetened cornmeal porridge that is the traditional Piemontese breakfast in the Cuneo area. Coarse polenta ground from Mais Ottofile (an eight-rowed heritage maize) is cooked in salted water to a very dense consistency, poured into terracotta moulds, cooled overnight, then sliced and fried in butter until golden. The cold, set slices are served at breakfast with a generous knob of butter and a sprinkling of sugar — or with honey.
Golden-crusted fried polenta with cold butter and sugar — the Piemontese breakfast that makes slow-food heritage maize the most important ingredient, and brown butter and sugar the perfect partners
{"Mais Ottofile polenta: coarser ground, more aromatic than industrial polenta — stone-ground is essential","Cook very dense — when the polenta holds a spoon upright, it is ready","Pour into buttered terracotta moulds; cool 4+ hours or overnight until fully set","Slice 1.5cm thick; fry in abundant brown butter until golden on both sides","Serve immediately with cold butter and sugar — the hot-cold and sweet-salty contrast is the experience"}
{"The same fried slice is also excellent as a savoury bed for braised meats — the sweet-savoury hybrid is traditional in the Cuneo area","Mais Ottofile is protected as a Presidi Slow Food variety — seek it out from Cuneo producers","The overnight setting in terracotta rather than a steel mould gives a slightly different crust character"}
{"Industrial fine polenta — the coarse stone-ground grain is essential for the characteristic texture","Serving without setting overnight — the polenta must be completely firm before slicing","Olive oil for frying — the brown butter is fundamental to the flavour"}
La Cucina Cuneese — Tradizioni delle Langhe