Food: Italian Delicacies

BARBIE NADEAU

It's summer, and thoughts naturally turn to polenta. Well, maybe just in northern Italy, where a host of small villages hold annual celebrations of what was once a peasant staple. Don't be deceived by its simple ingredients: the perfect polenta is hard to make. Advises chef Mauro Spadoni: always use a copper pot and freshly ground corn (try the widely exported Moretti's Polenta Bergamasca). What of those prepackaged tubes at the grocer's? "Never."

Creamy Polenta With Farm Sauce and White TruffleFrom Le Gole da Guerrinuccio restaurant in Abruzzo. Serves four.

For the polenta:

Boil 2dl of water and 2dl of milk in copper pan; pour in 250g of ground corn meal very slowly. Stir while cooking for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

For sauce: