Cuscuz Nordestino (Brazilian Steamed Corn Cake)

Ingredients

• 300 g polenta
• 2¼ dl water
• 1 tsp salt
• 50 g butter
• 100 g mozzarella, coarsely grated
• 4 egg
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1½ dl milk, warmed

Method

1. 1.

   Dampen the cornmeal — Tip the cornmeal into a wide bowl with the salt. Sprinkle the water over in three or four goes, raking it through with your fingers each time, until every grain is damp and the meal holds its shape when you squeeze a fistful but crumbles at a touch. It must feel like wet sand, never like batter.

2. 2.

   Rest, then sieve out lumps — Cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes so the water works its way into the grain, then rub the whole lot through a coarse sieve to break up any lumps that have set.

3. 3.

   Fill the basket loosely — Bring 3 cm of water to a rolling boil in the base of a steamer. Spoon the moistened meal loosely into the basket and level the top without pressing — packing it down is the one thing that turns cuscuz heavy instead of fluffy.

4. 4.

   Steam until it holds — Cover and steam for 15-18 minutes, until steam rises freely through the surface and the cake is set enough to turn out in one piece. Run a knife around the edge and invert it onto a plate.

5. 5.

   Butter and top with cheese — Cut into four wedges and dot the hot surface with 30 g of the butter so it soaks straight in. Scatter over the mozzarella and let the residual heat soften it into strands.

6. 6.

   Fry the eggs and serve — Fry the eggs in the remaining butter over medium heat until the whites are set and the edges catch and turn lacy but the yolks still run. Season with the black pepper, sit one egg on each portion and pour the warm milk around the base at the table.