Ingredients

  • 3 ½ cups water
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for serving

Directions

1. Combine the water and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of the cornmeal in a steady stream and whisk until the water returns to boiling. Gradually add the rest of the cornmeal, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook the mixture, covered, until thickened and cooked through, 10 minutes.
2. Add in the butter, a piece at a time, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon. Continue stirring until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes more. This is the key step to a smooth Mamaliga.
3. Transfer the "Mamaliga" to a medium-size oval bowl and flatten the surface with a wet spoon. Let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Invert the "mamaliga" onto a plate and sprinkle with the melted butter.

Notes
Made from stone-ground, bright orange, local cornmeal, mamaliga, is as essential to Moldavian and Romanian cuisine, as rice is to the Chinese. For breakfast, it is eaten fried with a slice of bacon: at lunch, it is sprinkled with feta cheese and baked: at dinner, it is served as a base for a hearty stew: and for dessert, slices of mamaliga are topped with confectioners' sugar or jam.

Mamaliga tastes very much like Italian polenta, although the Modavians insist that it is far superior, especially when made with their own cornmeal. Vigorous stirring is the key to a good, smooth mamaliga, and every Moldavian housewife has a long wooden spoon for this purpose. Traditionally, it has to be made in a heavy u-shaped pot but Ithe author finds that molding it in an oval bowl is much easier.

Teresa Notes: Sauté clove or 2 of garlic in butter, then add liquid to bring to a boil. Consider, using stock or milk instead of water. for a richer tasting dish. Add Paprika and bay leaf to liquid. When finished stirring, add Feta. Or garnish with Feta and butter.


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