Polenta for 50 in the piazza

Although there are still one or two interested visitors wandering around him in a narrow stone streets of Barga Vecchia, the main flux of the tourist season is coming to an end. It is still advisable to book beforehand if you want to eat out but if you are prepared to wait 10 – 15 minutes you can now generally find a table in all but the most exclusive restaurants.

The local residents of Barga Vecchia decided this morning that they did not wish to wait or book and so decided to to retake possession of Piazza Angelio and held an impromptu do-it-yourself sitdown meal in the piazza. Bright autumn sunshine added to the party feel of the event as more than 50 friends sat down to enjoy traditional polenta.

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Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal, (ground maize). It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as puls or pulmentum in Latin or more commonly as gruel or porridge) commonly eaten in Roman times and after. Early forms of polenta were made with such starches as the grain farro and chestnut flour, both of which are still used in small quantity today. When boiled, polenta has a smooth creamy texture due to the gelatinization of starch in the grain, though it may not be completely homogenous if a coarse grind or a particularly hard grain such as flint corn is used

Click on the link below to hear a spokesman for the Lake Angels talking about todays event (in Italiano)

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