Mămăligă cu Brânză și Smântână (Golden Polenta with Telemea and Soured Cream)

⏱ 35 min · Serves 4

Romania's beloved cornmeal comfort dish: a thick, buttery mămăligă spooned hot into bowls, crumbled with salty sheep's-milk telemea and crowned with a cold dollop of smântână. Rustic, cheap, and quietly perfect on a cold evening.

Per serving: 585 kcal · 17.5g protein · 52.0g carbs · 34.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1.2 litres water
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 250g coarse cornmeal (mălai) for polenta
• 50g unsalted butter, plus extra to serve
• 200g telemea cheese (or feta), crumbled
• 250g smântână or full-fat soured cream
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil (optional, for the pan)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Small handful of dill, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Bring the water and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy-based pan (a cast-iron pot is ideal).
2. Rain the cornmeal in slowly with one hand while whisking constantly with the other, so no lumps form.
3. Once it thickens, swap to a wooden spoon and lower the heat. Cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring firmly every couple of minutes and scraping the base, until the mămăligă pulls away from the sides of the pan and a spoon stands almost upright in it.
4. Beat in the butter until glossy. Taste and add salt if needed — telemea is salty, so go gently.
5. Traditional touch: tip the mămăligă onto a wooden board, shape into a dome and cut into wedges with a length of thread rather than a knife. Or simply spoon into warm bowls.
6. Layer each portion with crumbled telemea so it softens in the heat, then top with a generous spoonful of cold smântână.
7. Finish with black pepper, a little dill and an extra knob of butter. Eat immediately, while the cheese is melting into the hot cornmeal.