My attitude toward polenta took a lurch to the positive side when I learned that it could be baked, and I did not have to stand over the stove stirring for what always felt like an interminable period.

The cooked polenta may be left in the baking dish and toped with black beans. Or it may be unmolded and served in pieces as is, or toasted or fried as desired.

Polenta may be refrigerated, or frozen.

The classic topping for warm polenta is butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

Adapted from a recipe on the package of Golden Pheasant Polenta, The Polenta Company, South San Francisco, California, 1996.

Serves four

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the baking pan, including the sides. Place polenta, water, and salt in the pan. Stir with a whisk until well blended. Bake uncovered

Stir at the 15 minute point and even out the top surface. Omission of this step will result in bulging at edges and an uneven surface generally.

Time is variable, perhaps 50 minutes. Polenta is done when it tastes done, and when a small measuring spoon will stand up straight in the polenta. The edges will pull away slightly from the baking dish.

To Un-mold

Place the cooked polenta in a 1 inch bath of cold water. In 20 minutes the cake can be cut into pieces, which can be lifted out of the baking dish.

Or, chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Polenta vs. Cornmeal

Julia Child believes that either imported Italian polenta, or stone-ground cornmeal purchased in a health food store, are acceptable. She does not think that ordinary cornmeal is acceptable.

Here, as so often on such matters, she is right. Ordinary cornmeal has a rather raw corn taste, and the cake tends to fall apart, rather than slice neatly. For most uses this disqualifies it. For some uses, however, such as a bed under black beans, the difference would not be noticed.