Native American cornmeal pudding
This recipe, which my friend Cathy spotted in the New York Times and asked me to make, is actually called Indian Cornmeal Pudding. I am not an enthusiastic baker, so was a bit wary of trying my hand at this one, but it was ridiculously easy – especially if you’ve got American cup and spoon measures to hand (which I hope you do).
First, preheat your oven to 300 Fahrenheit or 150 Celsius and grease an 8- or 9-inch square gratin dish or baking dish (a brownie pan would be just about the perfect size, though I’d prefer an enamel or earthenware dish). Then, in a saucepan over medium heat, place 3.5 cups of whole milk. Add half a cup of molasses and three quarters of a cup of sugar to the milk, stirring to incorporate all ingredients. Lower the heat.
Slowly sprinkle half a cup of cornmeal (or dry polenta) over the sweet, warm milk, stirring or whisking while you do so. Take care to break up any lumps (I didn’t have any). The mixture should thicken after ten minutes or so over this low heat – if it doesn’t, increase the heat slightly and wait a couple of minutes to see what happens, being careful not to let anything burn. (Do not let it get to a porridge state; you want more of a thick, grainy soup consistency.) After it has thickened, add one teaspoon of ground cinnamon, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, half a teaspoon of salt, and three tablespoons of butter. Turn off the heat.
Turn the warm, thickened mixture into the buttered dish, then pour another half a cup of whole milk on top of it. Do not stir. Bake for two and a half to three hours, or until the pudding is set – if your oven runs hot, check on proceedings after two hours.
This can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature, and should keep for several days if well-wrapped and refrigerated. But let’s be serious: This will not hang about for several days. Cathy and I, with a help of a friend, finished off the entire dish in one sitting. (The friend, who has been a drummer for decades, also got the task of hand-whipping the cream to go on top of the pudding. He did a better job than either of us could have.)