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Mămăligă cu lapte
Mămăligă cu lapte: Moldavian polenta cubes in a bowl of cold or warm milk
In the villages of Romanian Moldavia, mămăligă cu lapte is the simplest country breakfast or supper: a firm mămăligă (cornmeal mush) is turned out, cut into cubes and dropped into bowls of milk, warm in winter and cold from the cellar in summer. The soft, sweet corn soaks up the milk like a homely cereal. The mistake is making the mămăligă too soft; it has to be firm enough to cut with a thread or knife, or it melts away in the milk. Chef's tip: add the cornmeal in a thin rain while whisking, then switch to a wooden spoon once it thickens, and you will never get lumps.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ oz butter
- 3 ¼ cups whole milkwarm or cold
- 2 tsp sugar (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Bring 3 ¾ cups water and 1 tsp salt to the boil in a heavy pan over a medium-high heat.
4 minStep 2: Rain in 9 oz medium-ground yellow cornmeal (polenta) while whisking constantly. Lower the heat and stir with a wooden spoon for 15–20 minutes, until the mush is thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
20 minStep 3: Stir in ½ oz butter, then tip the mămăligă onto a wooden board and let it firm up for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Cut into 2 cm cubes with a knife or a piece of thread.
Step 5: Pour 3 ¼ cups whole milk into 4 bowls, warmed or cold, sweeten with 2 tsp sugar if you like, and add the hot mămăligă cubes. Eat at once with a spoon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mămăligă cu lapte take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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