Herb Polenta With Red Bell Pepper Sauce
When I was a child in the Champagne region, my mother served us a dessert called gateau de semoule. It may sound exotic, but it's really just a cake made of semolina, the same as the American breakfast cereal Cream of Wheat. Its grainy, creamy texture was so soothing. Years later, I was working in Paris for Gaston Lenotre, the great pastry chef; he mixed semolina with olive oil and Parmesan to make gnocchi alla Romana. They were tender and light, and I much preferred them to regular gnocchi, which I find too gummy. I suppose those two memories are the reason I make my polenta with Cream of Wheat instead of cornmeal. I prefer the smoother texture of Cream of Wheat to the rougher texture of cornmeal, probably because it reminds me of my childhood, and Lenotre.
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