For some reason, corn has got accustomed to East Slavic cuisine, mainly in pickled form. They also like to bake it on the grill, or just nibble the boiled cobs on the beach at the beginning of the velvet season. This is completely in vain.
If you carefully examine the nutritional composition and the valuable properties of sweet corn, you can only wonder why people are still looking for means to lose weight and cleanse the body of toxins and toxins, free radionuclides. Why not include it in a regular diet for people suffering from diabetes, allergies of various origins, diseases of blood vessels, heart and digestive organs? Why take dubious means to build muscle mass when, within geographical and economic accessibility, there is maize (corn) - one of the first cereals to provide humanity with bread?
Note that corn contains up to 80% of unsaturated fatty acids, which is a rarity for many products. The invaluable role of these compounds is constantly repeated by the medical luminaries and local doctors, websites are full of advertisements for dietary supplements, in which network marketing is obsessively offering to buy a magic tool for health and longevity at inconceivable prices, while on the shelves of grocery stores “bored” with corn flour which costs a penny. Cornmeal and flour does not contain gluten, and this fact deserves the interest of fans of a gluten-free diet, but do not confuse corn flour with starch, one of the derived products from the same cereal.
So, it's time to do the popularization of dishes from corn grits or flour, and fortunately, good recipes have been preserved in the kitchens of Latin America and the Balkan Peninsula. Cornmeal dishes have perfectly taken root in the Caucasian cuisine and in some cuisines of the Asian continent. This will help find good culinary ideas for your own recipes.
Hominy from corn grits - the basic technological principles
The fact that hominy - thick corn porridge, a traditional and favorite dish of Moldavian cuisine, has been heard by many. There is a false opinion that hominy is a type of Moldovan bread. This is not entirely true, although recipes for corn flour bread also exist, but it is added to the bread dough in an amount of no more than 30%.
From corn grits, as from any other, you can cook a lot of dishes, but since we are talking about hominy, we will focus on the technology of cooking this dish, as the basis of other delicious recipes. In Moldova, hominy is always served accompanied by sauces, snacks and is not an independent dish.
The main reason for indifference to the dish lies in the complexity of cooking corn porridge. This technology is most likely not fully mastered by the housewives of the Eastern European part of the CIS countries. Cooking corn porridge is really different from cooking dishes from buckwheat, oatmeal, rice and other cereals, traditional for our East Slavic cuisine. But, as they say, not the gods burn pots, and everything happens once for the first time.
First, we note that corn flour has varying degrees of grinding, like wheat, rye, barley, and all other cereals. For hominy it is necessary to use the very fine grind. In other words, it is no longer cereal, but flour. It is important to note here that the varieties of white and yellow corn differ significantly and affect the taste of the corn porridge. For the preparation of hominy or polenta, which is popular in Italian cuisine, as well as the varieties of corn porridge in European countries, mainly corn flour from yellow varieties is used. Georgian, Azerbaijani and other cuisines of the peoples of the Caucasus are rich in white corn flour dishes. In Mexico and the countries of Central and South America, the birthplace of maize, all known varieties of corn are used in cooking.
So, if you want to try dishes from other national cuisines made from corn grits, then pay attention to this peculiarity, because otherwise you will not be able to achieve the desired result: the taste of yellow corn porridge is pronounced, unlike white cereal. Now let's move on to a detailed description of the technology of cooking hominy or polenta - choose the name you like, but the basic principle is the same.
The main recipe for corn flakes hominy
The consistency of porridge is viscous. The ratio of water and corn flour - 1: 3, for 500 g of flour requires 1.5 liters of water. If porridge is cooked in milk, then milk is combined with water, in a ratio of 1: 4. Duration of cooking - at least 40 minutes. For the first 15 minutes, porridge is cooked with intensive heating, and after heating, the temperature is reduced to the minimum, and further cooking takes place in the mode of toiling. Salt and a third of sifted and dried cornmeal are added to boiling water. Porridge is cooked with constant stirring until thickening begins. Then in the center of the pan it is necessary to install a wooden rolling pin, and with a wooden spatula constantly move the porridge away from the edge of the dish so that the porridge does not burn, and the water evaporates evenly. For a more delicate taste, butter or other fats are added at the beginning of cooking, depending on the side dish, which is necessarily served with hominy.
The question arises: what to do with the cereals left after sifting? In a good cook, all products are used to the maximum, and there should be no large waste. Wet the cereal in milk or water, add vegetables, fruit, cream cheese or cottage cheese, ground beef, spices, and cook burgers, meatballs, meatballs, muffins - culinary fantasy will help you find the right recipe. But cook hominy only from flour, because it is the basis of the dish.
Cooked and cooled porridge shift on the dish, turning the pan. It looks like a flat cake, dense and not crumbly. In essence, corn porridge in this form is a semi-finished product, from which you can prepare a lot of interesting dishes: appetizers, casseroles, rolls and even desserts, if during the cooking process you do not forget to add sugar to the water. The cooled layer is not cut with a knife, but with a harsh thread, pieces of the desired size and shape.
Now let's see what you can cook further from hominy. Below are attached recipes that can be prepared in the original, or modified by adding your own ideas.
1. Hominy made from corn grits and scrambled eggs with ham, cheese and vegetables
A quick and satisfying breakfast for the whole family is the dream of every woman. If breakfast, besides, will look original, so that the family would not be naughty at the table, then this is the beginning of a good day. This option is.
Products:
Hominy 0.6 kg (basic recipe)
Eggs, dietary 6 pcs.
Milk 200 ml
Ham 400 g
Ghee 100 g
Green onions 300g
Tomatoes 250 g
Salt
Preparation:
Cook hominy in milk in the evening, described in the main recipe. Put on a cloth, on a dish and leave until morning. In the morning, cut into cubes with the help of a yarn, or if the diameter of the frying pan and the pans in which the porridge was boiled coincide, separate the porridge across the circle, 1.5 cm thick layers.
Lubricate a deep pan with a removable handle oil, put into it a layer of hominy. Put the sliced tomatoes on top, place the ham on the tomatoes, cut into cubes. Pour lightly melted butter, put in a preheated oven and bake until rosy color. If desired, sprinkle ham with ground black pepper, replace with other meat, bacon or sausages.
Beat the eggs until the volume increases by 2-3 times, salt and pour cold milk. Pour the mass on top. Bake until tender, lowering the temperature in the oven to 90 - 100 ° C. As soon as the omelette is ready, pour over the remaining ghee and sprinkle with chopped green onions. These are the pies you can make for breakfast!
2. Corn grits hominy: gourmet snack with cheese
After breakfast, remained hominy? Moldovan porridge can even be made an element of a romantic dinner, adding quite a few components, using a special cooking technique.
Ingredients:
Hominy 200 g
Soft cheese (50%) 300 g
Cherry liqueur (tincture) 20 ml
Cognac 30 ml
Dry wine, white 200 ml
Garlic
Caraway
Butter
Muscat
White pepper, ground
Cooking: Start with the selection of suitable dishes: a hot snack will have to be served on the table in the container in which it will be baked in the oven. Therefore, choose a beautiful heat-resistant form and prepare a metal stand.
Hominy cut into small cubes, circles (using a notch) or other shapes. Grind the baking dish well with butter mixed with chopped garlic. Preheat oven to 200 ° C. Pour the warmed wine mixed with spices into the form, put the pieces of hominy covered with thin slices of cheese, which should be slightly larger in diameter than the circles of hominy. Sprinkle cheese with cumin: it will decorate the dish and improve digestion. Put the dish in the oven, wait until the wine is evaporated, the cheese is melted and covered with a slightly ruddy crust. Immediately put the dish on a stand, and pour a cocktail of brandy and cherry liqueur. Extinguish the light and set fire to the appetizer. When the alcohol is burned out, you can try. Do not forget to serve red wine to the dish.
3. Hominy made from corn grits: “balls” with cheese and cilantro
Try one of the delicious breakfast options.
Pickled cheese 400 g
Cilantro
Garlic
Hominy (ready porridge with milk) 1 kg
Paprika, dried 50 g
Cornmeal for breading
Butter 260 g
Deep fat fryer
Garnish:
Matsoni 800 ml
Spicy Tomato Sauce
Olives
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking:
Mash the porridge with a fork, adding 100 g of butter. Well pound hands, to a uniform consistence. Divide into pieces of 100 or 150 g. Place corn grits on the work surface, form round flatbreads.
Cheese also mash with a fork with the remaining butter, adding spices, garlic and finely chopped cilantro. Put 1.5 - 2 spoons of filling on the corn tortillas, roll the balls, roll them in the corn breading. Deep-fry and serve with olives, yoghurt and tomato sauce.
4. Hominy made from corn grits: grilled liver sausages
Ingredients:
Chicken liver stewed 800 g Onions, browned 250 g
Pepper
Garlic
Salt
Hominy 500 g
Eggs 2 pcs.
Cooking:
Prepared liver, onion, garlic, spices and porridge mix thoroughly with a blender, bringing to a homogeneous mass. Add eggs and form cylindrical semi-finished products with a diameter of not more than two centimeters.
Fry on the grill. Serve baked eggplants, tomatoes, garlic sauce as a side dish.
5. Hominy made from corn grits: muffins with dried fruit and cream
If you want gluten-free sweet pastries to not have the characteristic taste of cornmeal, order white cornmeal (from white variety) via the Internet. You can try to disguise the taste of fragrant confectionery additives: cocoa, fruit essences, brandy or rum.
Cooking:
Hominy on milk (see main recipe) 600 g
Oil 200 g
Baking powder 40 g
Assorted dried fruits (candied fruits, raisins, dried apricots) 150 g
Vanilla 10g
Sugar 150 g and 200 g
Eggs 1.5 pcs. (1 yolk and whole egg)
Apricot liqueur (“Amaretto”) 100 ml
Oranges 2 pcs.
Agar 10 g or gelatin 25 g
Cream, pastry 300 ml
Wheat flour 140 g
Preparation:
Remove the zest from the oranges, set aside to make the dough. Mix juice with sugar (200 g), bring to a boil and add soaked agar. Boil the syrup for about five minutes. Pour into a flat dish with a low side, covered with foil. When frozen, cut the jelly into cubes.
Put eggs into a bowl and beat with sugar. Add soft butter, vanilla, liqueur. Corn porridge, cooked in milk, mash with a fork, connecting with flour and dried fruits. Connect both masses. Stir to a plastic state.
Fill out the cupcake forms on? part of the volume, leave them for 15-20 minutes, letting go. Bake at 180 ° C.
Having checked the readiness of the cupcakes with a wooden skewer, transfer the finished products to a linen napkin and cool.
Shake chilled pastry cream. Cover the surface of the muffins with butter cream using a jigging bag, sprinkle with slices of orange jelly.
6. Hominy made from corn flour with pumpkin and cheese
Ingredients:
Cheese (or cottage cheese) 300 g
Mint
Hominy 600 g
Garlic
Pumpkin Baked with Sugar 200 g
Nuts (any) 50 g
Butter 90 g
Sour cream - to serve
Cooking:
Put the warm hominy boiled on the water onto a rectangular linen napkin or gauze. Cover with a second napkin. Using a rolling pin, roll out a flat rectangular layer of porridge (1 cm). Cover it with a layer of cheese stuffed with garlic, chopped mint greens and small cubes of baked pumpkin. Form a roll. Place it on the prepared baking sheet. Smear with melted butter and sprinkle with nut crumb. Brown in the oven and serve with sour cream, cut into portions.
Cornmeal Hominy - Useful Tips
Please note that corn grits are well stored, but not more than half a year, in tightly closed jars. Buying cereals, check the date of its production on the package.
Cornmeal will help in the treatment of hypertension. Pour a tablespoon of flour with boiled water overnight, stir. In the morning drain the water, leaving the sediment in a glass, and drink on an empty stomach.
