While the northern Italians look down disdainfully at the southerners and call them 'terroni' or earth-grubbers, the southerners look at the northerners and call them 'polentoni' or polenta-bellies. The culinary differences are not what they were, although the political ones remain. But traditionally polenta - made from maize meal - was a northern dish.

Milled maize was always a staple. It was known to poor blacks in America's south as 'hominy grits'. It is cheap, filling, and versatile. Most recipe books will tell you to pour the maize meal into already boiling water. This involves stirring fast while pouring to ensure no lumps. I suggest you try an alternative - mixing the meal and the water cold, then allowing it to boil. Whatever receptacle you use to measure the maize meal, add that same measurement of water three times. Salt, stir and when it starts to boil reduce the heat until the polenta plops quietly. Stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Polenta takes about half an hour to cook, so if it starts to look very dry, add a little more water. When it begins to separate from the edge of the pot, it's cooked.

Plain Polenta.

Once it's cooked you can prepare it the simplest way of all. Add butter and grated parmesan and stir it in. You can serve it like this as a substitute for mashed potatoes.

Polenta with Sugo.

Make a tomato sauce and add to it as many Italian sausages are there are people to feed. Let the sausages cook in the sauce for gently for fifteen minutes. While they cook ladle the polenta onto a board and spread it out to about half an inch thick. Slice it into squares of about three by four inches, put a square on plate, one sausage and a ladle of tomato sauce. Top with grated parmesan.

Fried Polenta.

Once again spread the polenta a board as described above and cut it into approximately two inch squares. Cover the bottom of a heavy frying pan with oil and heat it till it smokes. Dip each square of polenta into beaten egg and fry on both sides until crisp.

Baked Polenta.

Oil the base of an oven dish and add a layer of polenta about half an inch thick. Top this layer with some cooked mushrooms, onions, and small cubes of mozzarella and a bechamel sauce. Add another layer of polenta and repeat the process. Finally top the last layer of polenta with grated parmesan. Put it in the oven long enough for the mozzarella to melt - about half an hour at gas mark 6, and it's ready to eat. This is a dish that will hold well in a warm oven, so it can be prepared well in advance and left in a slow oven until needed.