Since working in a Thai kitchen I don't think there is actually any other way to cook rice than in a rice cooker. Perfect rice every time with no interventions needed. My rice cooker is in my top five kitchen gadgets.
I had been swooping around the internet and discovered an article talking about other ways to use your rice cooker- you had me at rice cooker!!
I love polenta and have featured a recipe for scrumptious Polenta & Proscuitto Chips, which are fabulous. I have always used store bought polenta before but after finding a recipe for rice cooker polenta that requires no fussing and stirring whilst it cooks I had to give it a go.
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I experimented with many batches of rice cooker polenta to get a recipe I was happy with. Its texture is perfect for cooling till set and then for slicing to be baked or grilled. You can also just use it straight from the rice cooker in place of mashed potato.
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RICE COOKER POLENTA
WHAT YOU NEED
1 cup of polenta (cornmeal)
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried herbs (I used a mix of rosemary, thyme, lavender and rosemary)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
WHAT YOU DO
Add everything into the rice cooker and give it a quick mix up to combine. Set the rice cooker to the white rice setting or fast cook setting. My rice cookers fast cook setting runs for 35 minutes so find the program that runs closest to that time. Once the time is up, leave it for 5 minutes to ensure all the liquid is absorbed. Open it up and give it a whisk.
It's now ready to go. For setting it for cutting, have a flat baking sheet ready brushed with a little oil to prevent sticking. Quickly pour out the polenta and flatten with a oiled metal spoon to the depth you want. Allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes and its ready to use.
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Or you can just toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in the oven till golden. Dip into ketchup or sweet chilli sauce. Who needs fries when you have these golden beauties!
