Just Three: Cornmeal, Ham, & Cheese.

Polenta with Crispy Serrano Ham and Melted Raclette

I'm going to try something new and sort of gimmicky: I'm going to see how many different dishes I can make, using just three ingredients.

The idea came in response to the frustration of cooking for my kids. Don't get me wrong: I love, love, to cook for, and especially with, my children; I find great joy in bringing children into the kitchen and watching them learn to cook, and I believe strongly that it is every parent's responsibility to help their littles learn what real food tastes like, what tastes good to them, what doesn't, and why. Nevertheless, when the homework hasn't been finished, the bath is getting cold, and our routine is less off-track than it is careening-off-the-rails into some life-imitating-art version of Wiley Coyote piloting a locomotive into a swan dive off the rim of the Grand Canyon, I will readily confess that I find preparing three separate versions of a dish, just to accommodate this week's litany of idiosyncratic likes and dislikes, exceedingly trying.

I recently found myself staring down the barrel of yet another Monday night meal (Mondays are always the hardest, for me, maybe it's the hangover from cooking fun stuff straight from the market all weekend; or perhaps the kids are grumpy with the first homework assignments of the week; and of course, there are lunches to be made; the TV is crap; all in all, I suppose it's mainly that the whole family has lived in some semblance of Party Mode since we all got let out on Friday) and figured, why not put the question back to them? I did a quick inventory of the cupboards and laid out the simplest (for me) and most likely to succeed (for them) options: The ubiquitous pasta-with-butter; some leftover mac-n-cheese; a breakfast burrito; polenta; or, barring one of the above, go get yourself a bowl and a spoon and have some cold cereal, because I'm done. The polenta took it by several lengths, leaving me with the sort of problem I like best: How should I transform a simple ingredient into a main-course dish with a minimum of fuss?

Another quick scouring of lower and forgotten drawers, a few experimental unveilings of mysterious shapes shrouded in plastic wrap or foil, and a quick mental palate-check succeeded in coughing up a few slices of still-good Serrano ham and a hunk of really stinky (in a good way - the unique ability of fine French cheeses to make "gym-locker aroma" a compliment), washed-rind Raclette.Without really thinking too much about it, certainly without any conscious attempt to use only three ingredients, a dish came together:

Polenta with Serrano Crisps and Raclette

1. Prepare a basic polenta, as described on the package or here. I've heard that you can make acceptable polenta with a "no-stir" method, and Marcella Hazan agrees, but I've not tried it; I do know that if you do it the right way, it takes a little work, but it's not hard, and the result is outstanding.
2. While the polenta is cooking, separate several slices of the ham (Serrano is particularly good, but you could use a Prosciutto or any number of thinly sliced charcuterie and get much the same effect), tear it into pieces, and saute it over low to medium-low heat, either in a nonstick skillet or a lightly oiled fry pan. Flip and toss the meat from time to time, breaking it up with the edge of a spatula, until it is lightly crispy (it will scorch easily, so be careful with heat). Reserve on a paper towel.
3. Grate the Raclette (again, it needn't be Raclette, but try to use something with a pungent flavor and good melting qualities) across a microplane or the smaller side of a box grater.
4. When it's finished, mound the polenta in the middle of a pasta bowl, cover with a handful of the cheese while the cereal is still piping hot, and top with the ham chips.