Sweet Fried Polenta Balls. Easy, Affordable, Delicious Recipe!
This recipe was given to me many years ago by Mrs. Giovanna. An ancient recipe from the Monferrato region in Piedmont, little known.
So I set to work after listening to her story:
Once upon a time, these simple sweets were all her mother prepared for Sunday lunch when she cooked polenta, because raisins couldn’t be used in large quantities.
Before seasoning it with a bit of butter and a little cheese, especially those that couldn’t be sold at the Friday market due to defects, they were consumed at home.
She would set aside a little polenta and add a little sugar, 1 egg, and raisins, sometimes softened in white wine, other times in grappa, back then there weren’t many distinctions, so we had the natural concession to consume even small sips of alcoholic beverages. The fieldwork allowed for the wandering heads to settle.
Raisins were the star, sometimes she would add a few walnut kernels and rarely some chocolate
She would fry them in butter, today I fry them in oil or an air fryer to try out the result.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Hours
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
Polenta, raisins, and sugar
- 10.6 oz cooked polenta
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 lemon peel
- 1 espresso cup walnuts (Coarsely chopped)
- to taste sugar
- to taste peanut oil (For frying)
Tools
A bowl for mixing, a pan for frying!
- Bowls
- Pans
- Air Fryers
Steps
Mix and fry, easy, right!?
If the polenta is cold, crumble it into the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, except the sugar; mix well.
Make balls, I used an ice cream scoop; once finished forming the balls, fry in plenty of hot oil, or in the air fryer
As soon as fried, let them dry briefly on kitchen paper and roll in granulated sugar, the sweet and salty contrast, the walnuts, the raisins… A simple delicacy! If you eat them right after frying, they are ultra-delicious!
Sweet polenta balls storage:
Two days at most, not because they aren’t good, but they lose a bit of crispness, and they are so good and unusual that they disappear quickly, excellent during the holiday season, at carnival, and for simple snacks.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
I don’t like raisins, can I replace them?
Of course, this is the base of an ancient story, if you don’t like them, you can omit and replace them with dried figs, pears, or apples.
Does it contain gluten?
It is a gluten-free, egg-free, milk-free recipe, an excellent choice and exquisite variant
