Torta Di Polenta, e Limone

To be perfectly honest, I am not the worlds biggest fan of Polenta.

I mean I do like it,  we eat it reasonably often, both wet, and in solid form. Polenta however is not something I would dream about, or suddenly get an urge, or craving to eat.

So it probably comes as no surprise that I tried something a little different to make things more exciting. As a child, I can remember eating a Polenta based tart, and as vile as maybe it sounds, it was actually delicious.

I could remember it was very sharp, and sweet at the same time. Obviously it was made with fresh lemons picked from the tree in the garden, but still my hopes in creating a replica using imported produce was quite high.

The main thing to note about the ingredients, is that you definitely need to use real Polenta, rather than the "instant" stuff, but at a push, the latter does work reasonably well, but the texture will suffer, and you will find it more dense, rather than crumbly and light.

It is also worth mentioning that when making the Lemon Syrup, you could add lemon zest as we sometimes do, it adds an extra note of bitterness. As always with cooking, tinker as you wish. There is also no reason why it wouldn't be delicious combining limes into this original recipe.



INGREDIENTS:

150g (5 oz)      unsalted butter
100g (3.5 oz)   granulated sugar
100g (3.5 oz)   polenta (non instant if possible)
200g (7oz)       ground almonds, or almond flour
50g   (1.5oz)    flaked almonds
3 eggs
1 lemon

Lemon Syrup
2 lemons, juiced,
50g sugar
50ml water



METHOD:

-First step is to cream together the butter and sugar until nicely combined, and lightened in colour.

-Next combine the eggs into this mixture, don't worry if it looks vile, or splitting, it will come together again later.

-Add the polenta, ground almonds, flaked almonds, the Lemon zest (optional) and/or juice. Mix very well, until everything is nicely combined.

-Pour the mixture into a flan case or equivalent and bake in the middle of an oven for around 30-45 minutes, at about Gas Mark 5 (190 C) until looking slightly golden, a hint of colour.

-Meanwhile prepare the syrup by heating together the sugar, lemon juice and water, you may need slightly more water than the 50ml I listed, but use that as a starting point.  It doesn't need to be thick, but thick enough to coat and cling to the back of a spoon, so adjust accordingly.

-Once the tart has cooled sufficiently, remove from the flan case and place onto a serving plate.  Then while it is still warm, pour over the hot lemon syrup.

You should end up with something resembling the below, but most probably yours will look better, as im not really one for "prettying up" food at home.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

This can be eaten while it is warm, or chilled, and is really nice served with a sweetened whipped cream, or creme fraiche.  This will keep in the fridge for a few days no problem at all, and if anything the flavours intensify.

As can be seen above, being boring, I often eat it plainly. Incidentally it probably appears more crumbly than it is, it does actually hold together quite well! Enjoy!