La Mosa (Tirolean Polenta Porridge)

I picked up only one new cookbook during my visit to Rome in November. It’s called Un po’ più su: La mia cucina di montagna, or “A Little Higher: My Mountain Kitchen” by Davide Zambelli, one of my favorite YouTuber chefs at the moment. Zambelli hails from the mountainous region of Alto Adige aka Südtirol, a German speaking area in the Tirolean Alps which used to be part of Austria, and the cooking of the region very much reflects its history and topography.

I really enjoy the cuisine of the region—and Zambelli’s charming videos have rekindled my interest—but it’s not one I know terribly well. I’ve only been there a few times, and it’s been quite a few years since my last visit. But I do remember that I ate very, very well. The cuisine includes many dishes I’d gotten to know when I lived in Vienna, with local versions of classics like canerderli (knödl), Spaetzle and Apple Strudel. And to my taste they were even more delicious than the Viennese ones. Among other things, I remember having the best canederli of my life in the region’s capital, Bolzano.

One of the most appealing dishes I’ve discovered in Zambelli’s book is also one of the humblest: la mosa, a kind of loose polenta made with milk, water and just a bit of cornmeal, thickened into a creamy porridge with flour and water paste. Traditionally, you serve la mosa in the same iron skillet you cooked it in, smothered in (un)healthy dose of browned butter, placing the skillet in the middle of the table with enough spoons so everyone can dig in.

La mosa would be a lovely way to open a meal. (Zambelli calls it an antipasto but others might think of it as a primo.) It can also be served as a comforting snack. And in its sweet version (see Notes below) you could also close out your meal with la mosa as dessert.

Simple but delicious. And incredibly comforting. This is true cucina povera at its best.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 700ml (3 cups) whole milk
• 600ml (2-1/2 cups) water
• salt
• 50g (1-3/4 oz) cornmeal

For the thickening paste:

• 20g (2-1/2 Tbs) flour
• 30ml (1 fl oz) water

To finish the dish:

• 30g (1 oz or 2 Tbs) butter, or more to taste
• black pepper (optional)

Directions

In a skillet or braiser, preferably made of copper or carbon steel, bring the milk and water to a simmer. Add a small pinch of salt and the cornmeal, whisking vigorously as if you were making polenta. Let the mixture simmer for about 30-40 minutes, stirring from time to time.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and water into a paste.

A few minutes before the mosa is done simmering, whisk in the paste. It should thicken into a creamy porridge. When done, taste and adjust for seasoning.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat, until it turns hazelnut brown.

Take the pudding off heat and serve it in its own skillet, topped with the browned butter and, if you like, a good grinding of black pepper.

Notes

Zambelli’s recipe for la mosa only specifies farina di mais (corn meal) without specifying the type. But as we’ve pointed out before, Italian cornmeal tends to be more finely ground than in, say, the US. So I’d look for, or medium or finely ground cornmeal or, even better, imported bramata or fioretto polenta. (The one recipe I’ve see that specifies calls for fioretto.)

You should use for a carbon steel or copper skillet or braiser if you have one to make your mosa. It’s more than just a question of tradition. These metals promote the formation of a tasty little crust at the bottom that locals call Scherren, a bit like the socarrat on a paella. You could use stainless steel, but if you want that Scherren to form, avoid non-stick.

Be careful with the salt at the beginning. Just a small pinch, recalling that the mixture will reduce as it simmers. Then taste and adjust for seasoning just before serving.

You will need to adjust the heat as you go. As the polenta mixture reduces and thickens, it really starts to bubble. Lower the flame as needed to maintain a good simmer but not a rolling boil and avoid your mosa from splattering all over your cook top.

Of course you can also adjust for thickness. Add more milk if things get too stodgy, or more flour if things are too loose. Or just keeping simmering.

Variations

La mosa is also lovely, as you can well imagine, topped with grated aged cheese. (Zambelli doesn’t specify which, but a typical local grating cheese would include Trentingrana. I’d feel free to use any relatively mildly flavored grating cheese like grana Padano or parmigiano-reggiano.

Aside from this basic version, Zambelli he says la mosa is also excellent as a sweet dessert, topped with sugar and cinnamon. Some sweet versions call for a topping of poppy seeds.

The ratio of milk to water can vary among recipes. In many you add much more milk than water. Some recipes call for a shorter or longer simmer, from 20 minutes or up to an hour. (As a general rule, the coarser your cornmal, the longer it will take to cook.) And in many recipes, but not Zambelli’s, you let the polenta simmer gently over low heat without stirring, so that it forms a lovely crust on the bottom which the locals call a bit like the socarrat for a paella.

As always, the recipe for la mosa varies from place to place. In the Trentino, just south of Alto Adige, they add grated grana Padano. In the val Badia area they add buckwheat flour. And in Vicenza, in the neighoring region of the Veneto, their version of mosa is a kind of pumpkin velouté thickened with cornmeal.

A Demo

And now, for a treat! Let’s watch Zambelli himself prepare la mosa. It’s in Italian (without subtitles) but even if you don’t understand the language it’ll be instructive. You can observe the technique, watch the porridge simmer and, of course, notice the final texture you’re aiming for.

The video is interesting, because Zambelli varies a bit from his cookbook recipe. He adds more milk and less water (1.5l milk to 0.5 water). He also recommends a 20-30 minute simmer, rather than the 40 minutes in his cookbook recipe. What can I say? Playing fast and loose with measurements and cooking times, he’s very Italian in that way…

Zambelli also makes some interesting comments about the way he likes his mosa. For one thing, notwithstanding usual Italian tastes mentioned above, he prefers more coarsely ground cornmeal, he says, for its more rustic, grainy texture—although from the look of it and the way it cooks down, I’d say it’s more like our medium coarse stuff. And, although he continues to whisk the pudding throughout the simmer, he mentions how he likes a little crust on the bottom. He recommends stirring to avoid the bottom burning. Indeed, in my own version I found a slight crust forms even if you do stir.

Print Recipe

La Mosa

Polenta Pudding from Alto Adige

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Antipasto, Snack

Cuisine: Trentino-Alto Adige

Keyword: simmered

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 700 ml 3 cups whole milk
• 600 ml 2-1/2 cups water
• salt
• 50 g 1-3/4 oz cornmeal

For the thickening paste:

• 20 g 2-1/2 Tbs flour
• 30 ml 1 fl oz water

To finish the dish:

• 30 g 1 oz or 2 Tbs butter, or more to taste
• black pepper

Instructions

• In a skillet or braiser, preferably made of copper or carbon steel, bring the milk and water to a simmer. Add a small pinch of salt and the cornmeal, whisking vigorously as if you were making polenta. Let the mixture simmer for about 30-40 minutes, stirring from time to time.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and water into a paste.
• A few minutes before the mosa is done simmering, whisk in the paste. It should thicken into a creamy porridge. When done, taste and adjust for seasoning.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat, until it turns hazelnut brown.
• Take the pudding off heat and serve it in its own skillet, topped with the browned butter and, if you like, a good grinding of black pepper.

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