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Polenta Annabi

Algerian polenta fritters are soft and creamy inside and crisp and golden outside. They are eaten hot, but you can prepare them in advance and reheat them. They are delicious.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 8

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cup sugar
Few drops of vanilla extract
The grated rind of one lemon
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking cornmeal (polenta)
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup raisins
Flour
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Confectioners’ sugar to sprinkle on

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a saucepan, bring the milk to the boil with the sugar, vanilla extract, and grated lemon rind. Stir in the cornmeal and keep stirring with a wooden spoon for 5–10 minutes.

    Step 2

    Take off the heat, add the butter and eggs, and beat vigorously with the spoon until they are amalgamated with the polenta into a soft creamy mass. Add the raisins, and mix well. Then pour into a wide, oiled dish and let it cool.

    Step 3

    When the polenta has firmed, take lumps the size of small tangerines and pat them into round, not-too-flat cakes. Put some flour on a plate and turn the polenta cakes in this to cover them all over.

    Step 4

    Deep-fry in batches in 1 1/2 inches hot oil until golden, turning them over once. Serve hot, dusted with a little confectioners’ sugar.

  2. Variation

    Step 5

    For a polenta cake, pour the polenta mixture into an 11- or 12-inch oiled oven dish or tart pan and bake in a 350°F oven for 25 minutes, then put under the broiler until golden. Serve hot or cold, dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into wedges.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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