Polenta Squares with Gorgonzola - Crostoni al Gorgonzola

Fried polenta is a great treat, snacking food of the sort one can go to a friggitoria and buy a cone of -- the frier takes a sheet of yellow butcher's paper, rolls it into a cone, and fills it with squares of polenta. But polenta is also a nice accompaniment to other fried foods at table, and is a perfect base for toppings of various kinds, at which point the squares become crostini, and are excellent antipasti or party foods. Here they're topped with Gorgonzola. To serve 4:

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 1 1/2 by 3-inch (3 by 7.5 cm) finger-thick slices firm polenta (a store-bought polenta brick will be fine)
• 1/2 pound (225 g) Gorgonzola, ideally the sharper variety
• 1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter
• Oil for frying

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the polenta slices a few at a time until golden and quite crunchy. Drain them well on absorbent paper. While the polenta is frying, beat the butter and Gorgonzola together until the mixture is creamy and homogenous. Spread the fried slices with the Gorgonzola mixture, drain the oil from the pot, and arrange the slices of polenta in the pot. Return the pot to the fire, reducing the flame to a minimum, cover, and heat until the topping has begun to melt. Serve at once.

Yield: 4 servings polenta squares with Gorgonzola.

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