Sofkee

For a simple, comforting dish, sofkee is swathed in elaborate ritual.

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Course Main Course

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for finishing.
1 cup medium to coarse cornmeal
4-5 cups water 4 if you want a firmer, more solid sofkee, 5 if you want it looser and creamier
sea salt and ground pepper — be generous

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Generously oil a deep ovenproof casserole. Pour in cornmeal and water, add a good pinch of sea salt. You’ll want more when it’s done. Give everything a stir, so it forms a slurry. It will not look pretty. Have heart.
Place casserole in the oven uncovered and leave it to work its sofkee sorcery for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and give it a vigorous stir so everything’s smooth and lumpless,
Season generously with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and more olive oil if desired.

Notes

Serves 4 to 6.

To serve: This is sofkee at its most elemental. I recommend cooking it this way, then enriching it in any way you like. Some suggestions:

Make it richer with a pat or two of vegan butter or drizzle on some cashew cream
Make it cheesier by adding nutritional yeast and/or grated vegan cheese
Add a fistful of your favorite herbs, chopped tomato and/or chopped jalapeno
Let it serve as a yummy bed for grilled or roasted vegetables
Pair with Sukuma Wiki, Cuban black beans or mushroom etouffée.
Splash with hot sauce
Enjoy the sweeter side of sofkee — top with fresh fruit, cinnamon, chopped nuts, a drizzle of cashew cream and/or maple syrup or molasses

To keep: Sofkee keeps covered and refrigerated for several days, during which time it tends to thicken. If it’s thickened too much for you, thin to your desired consistency with water, vegetable broth or your favorite unsweetened plant-based milk then reheat gently on the stove, stirring over medium heat, or bake covered, in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until heated through. Give it a stir and you’re good to go.

Keyword grits, polenta, Sofkee