Paste di Meliga (Polenta Biscuits)
Photography by Josh Griggs.
Polenta is a staple of the cuisine of Italy's Piedmont region. The chocolate and sea salt are not traditional but make for a very satisfying crunchy, sweet and delicately salty biscuit.
INGREDIENTS
75 grams white sugar
75 grams brown sugar
225 grams fine instant polenta
100 grams flour
150 grams butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, size 7
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 grams bitter dark chocolate, 70 per cent cocoa solids, roughly chopped
flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
METHOD
Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Using your hands, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until they reach breadcrumb consistency. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir together to form a soft dough.
Using your hands, tear off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls. Place balls of dough on to baking trays and press down gently with your hands or a fork to flatten. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden around the edges and crispy. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While biscuits are cooling, place the chocolate in a small bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the base touch the water) and leave to melt, stirring occasionally.
Dip cooled biscuits into melted chocolate until they are half submerged, then place on a baking paper-lined plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and cool in the refrigerator until chocolate has set.
Store biscuits in an airtight container in the fridge to avoid the chocolate exterior melting. Makes about 17 biscuits.
Keep up to date with
dish weekly recipes,
food news, and events.
latest issue:
HOLIDAY
dish HOLIDAY is your go-to magazine for summer entertainment. Chock-full of recipes to share in the warmer weather dish HOLIDAY is a one-off special edition, designed for the beach, bach, boat or back yard. Different than a regular issue of dish, it is dedicated to making the most of warm-weather leisure time, including barbecue and salad recipes, Spotify playlists, a beach read, crosswords and puzzles, fish and chip and ice cream guides and much more.
This issue is not part of the 12-month subscription and is available only at retail in Aotearoa New Zealand.