Coo Coo Caribbean Polenta Recipes

Steps:

• Clean and wash okra. Dice all but 6. Add 3 cups of water to a large saucepan. Add salt. Add diced and whole okra. Bring okra to boil for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Save whole okra aside for garnish.
• Measure 2 cups of liquid from the cooked okra to use for cooking your cou-cou.
• Mix cornmeal in a large bowl with enough cold water to moisten and blend it together. Stir the cornmeal slowly into the reserved liquid and okra. Use a wooden spoon to mix together.
• Return pot to stove over medium heat, and continue stirring okra and cornmeal. Cook and stir about 15-20 minutes. Insert wooden spoon into center of the cou-cou If spoon stands up in the pot and is easily removed from cornmeal, your cou-cou is done.
• Cou-cou should be firm when it's done. If the cou-cou is oose and creamy looking, you have used too much water. If too much water is used, let cou-cou stand uncovered over low heat to "dry out."
• When cou-cou is done, turn the entire mixture into a buttered serving bowl and garnish with whole okra.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the coconut milk, butter and salt. Bring *almost* to the boil.
• Gradually stir in the cornmeal. Lower heat and cook the mixture for approximately 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly with spoon to prevent sticking (my non-stick pan worked really well for this recipe!) Stir until the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the pan. If however, it becomes too thick, stir in a little more coconut water or milk.
• Pour the mixture into a greased 8" x 8" ovenproof pan. Set aside for a couple minutes then cut into squares and serve warm. I think I let the coo coo set for about 10 minutes. The second time I prepared this I added a little bit of vanilla paste and a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg. Either version is good!