The truth is that the first time I tried to make bulz, I really messed it up. I added the cheese too early, the polenta was softer than soup, and I struggled to scoop it with a spoon as if I were making cotton candy instead of food. Out of frustration, I shoved the pan in the sink and made a fried egg instead. After that, an old neighbor from across the hall taught me that you don't have to put all the cheese in at once, and that if you have good sausages, everything goes better. I tried again, and since then, I make it whenever I don't know what to cook and I'm in a hurry, or when I simply want a dish that fills the house with the smell of cheese and fried sausages. I like that you don't have to be a master chef, but you also can't compromise on taste. Anyway, I don't think there are two bulz that are the same; each has its own little story.
And just so you know what to expect: for me, if I stick to the recipe, it takes about 45 minutes including baking and slicing the sausages. It serves four hungry people or three who aren't afraid of another helping. The difficulty? Well, if you can make rice without burning it, you'll be fine here.
I often come back to it for two simple reasons: one, it saves me when I have leftover cheese that’s been sitting in the fridge for too long; two, it goes with absolutely anything you have at home and doesn’t require any special fuss. Sometimes I make it even without any occasion; I just get the craving. I love that everyone gathers around the table without any fuss – no one is on their phone, they just dive in. Plus, with this recipe, I also solve the “what should I eat today?” dilemma.
1. Put about one and a half liters of water to boil in a large pot, a sturdy saucepan, or that big pot you use for boiling pasta. Add a heaping teaspoon of salt. Don’t ask why a heaping spoon – without it, it turns out bland.
2. When it starts to boil, throw in a small handful of cornmeal and let it form a skin, like a film. I learned that this way, the polenta doesn’t get lumpy.
3. Now, it's a matter of eye: start pouring in the cornmeal, about 300g (a good bowl), but don’t throw it all in at once. Sprinkle it in and stir vigorously with a whisk or a wooden spoon. Stir for three minutes and see if it’s too thick – if not, add a bit more water.
4. Turn the heat down low and keep an eye on it. I once had it splatter on me, and I burned my hand, so don’t leave it unattended. At first, stir almost continuously, then less frequently, about every five minutes, for around ten minutes in total. When you see it starting to pull away from the sides of the pot and it’s neither too sticky nor like concrete, it’s done.
5. Then, cut up some butter (about 50g) into cubes, throw it on top, and stir again. The polenta should be shiny, not dry.
6. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and add about 100g of cheese inside. Mix well so that the cheese melts and the flavors distribute. Don’t add all the cheese if you don’t like it too salty – that’s a trick that has saved my dish a few times.
7. While the polenta is cooking, slice the smoked sausages into thin rounds, about the thickness of a finger, and quickly fry them in a pan without oil – they release enough fat. Some people like to put them in raw, but I’m not a fan of that; I don’t like how they turn out.
8. Grease a baking dish (something like a glass dish or a classic baking tray) with the remaining butter, then pour the polenta with cheese over it. Level it out; don’t stress about getting it perfectly even, but don’t leave big holes.
9. Place the sausage pieces on top as evenly as you can, because in the end, everyone fights over who gets the piece with more sausages.
10. Put the dish in the oven at 180 degrees (preheated if you want to be precise) for about 15 minutes. Let it set a bit on top, so it forms a crust.
11. In the meantime, beat an egg very well with two or three pieces of cubed melted cheese (the triangle kind, if you can still find it) and a pinch of salt. When you take the dish out, pour the egg and cheese mixture all over.
12. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, just enough for the egg to set, so you can see it’s no longer liquid. Don’t leave it too long, or it will become rubbery.
13. Take the dish out, let it sit for five minutes, no more, or else it will stick or become too soft to cut. Then turn it out onto a cutting board, slice thick pieces or cubes – no one has high expectations here; everyone takes as much as they can fit.
That’s about it. Don’t skip the butter, even if it seems like too much. Without it, everything turns out dry, and it doesn’t have that nice shine. I choose the cheese by eye – it shouldn’t be too dry or salty, or else it will be hard to eat. And for the sausages… they should be smoked, so you can taste the flavor, not some cheap deli meat; otherwise, it’s pointless.
If you don’t have cheese, you can use telemea, but it should be more mature. Fresh telemea or cow cheese – it’s not anything special. Even grated cheese works in a pinch. I once tried it with cream cheese, and it wasn’t bad, but it lacks personality. For the sausages, you can use any thicker salami, sliced into rounds, but it has to be smoked to have charm. On the side, some classic pickles, cucumbers or green tomatoes, or even raw red onion go well. If you want something healthier (though I’m not sure how healthy bulz is), you can add sour cabbage salad or beetroot.
As for drinks, we usually go for cold draft beer, wine is rarer – it’s too “heavy” for bulz, if you ask me. But I’ve seen that a glass of dry white wine doesn’t hurt if you have it on hand. For a complete menu: a vegetable soup to start and maybe a simple dessert – doughnuts or apple pie, nothing fancy, because bulz is already heavy. Among the recipes that go well with bulz, I suggest trying homemade zacusca or a simple fried egg placed directly on the plate over the bulz. Even with a salad of roasted peppers, if you have the patience.
Instead of sausages, you can try sautéed mushrooms (if there’s a vegetarian in the house), or, why not, chopped bacon. You can also sprinkle some hot peppers on top if you’re feeling adventurous. Or even cubes of kaiser. Some people add a layer of sour cream inside, but it becomes too heavy, at least for my stomach.
It’s best eaten warm, steaming, directly with a spoon or a knife. It goes really well with sour cream, pickles, or anything sour you have in the fridge. I’ve tried it with yogurt; it’s not bad, but sour cream still wins.
Questions I’ve heard (or asked myself the first time):
1. If it turns out too soft, what do I do? Answer: You can put it back in the oven for ten minutes without the melted cheese and egg, to firm it up a bit. But don’t try to add more cornmeal at the beginning, or it will turn into concrete.
2. Can I use regular cheese? Yes, but it shouldn’t be watery telemea. If you only have sweet or fresh cheese, add a bit of salt and some grated cheese for flavor.
3. Can it be made without an oven? Yes, but then you put it in a pan on low heat, covered, until it sets a bit on the bottom and everything heats through. It won’t have a crust, but it works.
4. Should the sausages be fried or raw? I prefer them fried; they turn out more flavorful and don’t release water.
5. Can I make it for fasting? Yes, skip the egg, the melted cheese, and use salty soy cheese or tofu instead of sausages, and you’re good to go.
6. If I only have instant polenta? Go by what it says on the package, but adjusted to the ingredients here. It won’t be as tasty, but it will get you out of a bind.
Nutritionally, it’s not light food, let’s be clear. A generous bowl has about 400-450 kcal, maybe even more if you go overboard with the cheese. Carbohydrates are about 40-50g per serving (mostly from the cornmeal), protein about 12-14g if you add the cheese and egg properly, and fat is quite high, around 20-25g – depending on how much butter you leave in and how fatty the cheese is. It’s not an everyday meal, for sure, but it’s not the end of the world if you have a serving at a more serious meal. What I like is that it keeps you full for a few good hours; you won’t need anything else.
It surprisingly keeps well in the fridge for about two days, covered or in a container. If you want to reheat it, put it in the microwave or the oven, drizzled with a bit of sour cream or milk on top to prevent it from drying out. I don’t recommend reheating it on the stove, as it sticks and loses its charm. If you freeze it, it loses some of its texture, but it still works.
Ingredients and why I use them this way:
- 1.5 liters of water – the base for polenta, to boil freely, so it’s not sticky
- 1 teaspoon of salt – adds flavor; otherwise, it’s really bland
- 300g cornmeal – not just any cornmeal, but the finer kind, so it doesn’t come out with big lumps, but also not too coarse
- 100g salty cheese – the main flavor, salty, fatty, makes the whole dish
- 50g butter – for shine, flavor, and to prevent everything from being dry
- 1 egg – binds and forms the crust on top; don’t skip it
- 2-3 triangles of melted cheese – for a creamy texture and a slightly different flavor
- 1-2 smoked sausages – for flavor, fat, just the right amount of salt, it’s the ingredient everyone fights over
And just so you know what to expect: for me, if I stick to the recipe, it takes about 45 minutes including baking and slicing the sausages. It serves four hungry people or three who aren't afraid of another helping. The difficulty? Well, if you can make rice without burning it, you'll be fine here.
I often come back to it for two simple reasons: one, it saves me when I have leftover cheese that’s been sitting in the fridge for too long; two, it goes with absolutely anything you have at home and doesn’t require any special fuss. Sometimes I make it even without any occasion; I just get the craving. I love that everyone gathers around the table without any fuss – no one is on their phone, they just dive in. Plus, with this recipe, I also solve the “what should I eat today?” dilemma.
1. Put about one and a half liters of water to boil in a large pot, a sturdy saucepan, or that big pot you use for boiling pasta. Add a heaping teaspoon of salt. Don’t ask why a heaping spoon – without it, it turns out bland.
2. When it starts to boil, throw in a small handful of cornmeal and let it form a skin, like a film. I learned that this way, the polenta doesn’t get lumpy.
3. Now, it's a matter of eye: start pouring in the cornmeal, about 300g (a good bowl), but don’t throw it all in at once. Sprinkle it in and stir vigorously with a whisk or a wooden spoon. Stir for three minutes and see if it’s too thick – if not, add a bit more water.
4. Turn the heat down low and keep an eye on it. I once had it splatter on me, and I burned my hand, so don’t leave it unattended. At first, stir almost continuously, then less frequently, about every five minutes, for around ten minutes in total. When you see it starting to pull away from the sides of the pot and it’s neither too sticky nor like concrete, it’s done.
5. Then, cut up some butter (about 50g) into cubes, throw it on top, and stir again. The polenta should be shiny, not dry.
6. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and add about 100g of cheese inside. Mix well so that the cheese melts and the flavors distribute. Don’t add all the cheese if you don’t like it too salty – that’s a trick that has saved my dish a few times.
7. While the polenta is cooking, slice the smoked sausages into thin rounds, about the thickness of a finger, and quickly fry them in a pan without oil – they release enough fat. Some people like to put them in raw, but I’m not a fan of that; I don’t like how they turn out.
8. Grease a baking dish (something like a glass dish or a classic baking tray) with the remaining butter, then pour the polenta with cheese over it. Level it out; don’t stress about getting it perfectly even, but don’t leave big holes.
9. Place the sausage pieces on top as evenly as you can, because in the end, everyone fights over who gets the piece with more sausages.
10. Put the dish in the oven at 180 degrees (preheated if you want to be precise) for about 15 minutes. Let it set a bit on top, so it forms a crust.
11. In the meantime, beat an egg very well with two or three pieces of cubed melted cheese (the triangle kind, if you can still find it) and a pinch of salt. When you take the dish out, pour the egg and cheese mixture all over.
12. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, just enough for the egg to set, so you can see it’s no longer liquid. Don’t leave it too long, or it will become rubbery.
13. Take the dish out, let it sit for five minutes, no more, or else it will stick or become too soft to cut. Then turn it out onto a cutting board, slice thick pieces or cubes – no one has high expectations here; everyone takes as much as they can fit.
That’s about it. Don’t skip the butter, even if it seems like too much. Without it, everything turns out dry, and it doesn’t have that nice shine. I choose the cheese by eye – it shouldn’t be too dry or salty, or else it will be hard to eat. And for the sausages… they should be smoked, so you can taste the flavor, not some cheap deli meat; otherwise, it’s pointless.
If you don’t have cheese, you can use telemea, but it should be more mature. Fresh telemea or cow cheese – it’s not anything special. Even grated cheese works in a pinch. I once tried it with cream cheese, and it wasn’t bad, but it lacks personality. For the sausages, you can use any thicker salami, sliced into rounds, but it has to be smoked to have charm. On the side, some classic pickles, cucumbers or green tomatoes, or even raw red onion go well. If you want something healthier (though I’m not sure how healthy bulz is), you can add sour cabbage salad or beetroot.
As for drinks, we usually go for cold draft beer, wine is rarer – it’s too “heavy” for bulz, if you ask me. But I’ve seen that a glass of dry white wine doesn’t hurt if you have it on hand. For a complete menu: a vegetable soup to start and maybe a simple dessert – doughnuts or apple pie, nothing fancy, because bulz is already heavy. Among the recipes that go well with bulz, I suggest trying homemade zacusca or a simple fried egg placed directly on the plate over the bulz. Even with a salad of roasted peppers, if you have the patience.
Instead of sausages, you can try sautéed mushrooms (if there’s a vegetarian in the house), or, why not, chopped bacon. You can also sprinkle some hot peppers on top if you’re feeling adventurous. Or even cubes of kaiser. Some people add a layer of sour cream inside, but it becomes too heavy, at least for my stomach.
It’s best eaten warm, steaming, directly with a spoon or a knife. It goes really well with sour cream, pickles, or anything sour you have in the fridge. I’ve tried it with yogurt; it’s not bad, but sour cream still wins.
Questions I’ve heard (or asked myself the first time):
1. If it turns out too soft, what do I do? Answer: You can put it back in the oven for ten minutes without the melted cheese and egg, to firm it up a bit. But don’t try to add more cornmeal at the beginning, or it will turn into concrete.
2. Can I use regular cheese? Yes, but it shouldn’t be watery telemea. If you only have sweet or fresh cheese, add a bit of salt and some grated cheese for flavor.
3. Can it be made without an oven? Yes, but then you put it in a pan on low heat, covered, until it sets a bit on the bottom and everything heats through. It won’t have a crust, but it works.
4. Should the sausages be fried or raw? I prefer them fried; they turn out more flavorful and don’t release water.
5. Can I make it for fasting? Yes, skip the egg, the melted cheese, and use salty soy cheese or tofu instead of sausages, and you’re good to go.
6. If I only have instant polenta? Go by what it says on the package, but adjusted to the ingredients here. It won’t be as tasty, but it will get you out of a bind.
Nutritionally, it’s not light food, let’s be clear. A generous bowl has about 400-450 kcal, maybe even more if you go overboard with the cheese. Carbohydrates are about 40-50g per serving (mostly from the cornmeal), protein about 12-14g if you add the cheese and egg properly, and fat is quite high, around 20-25g – depending on how much butter you leave in and how fatty the cheese is. It’s not an everyday meal, for sure, but it’s not the end of the world if you have a serving at a more serious meal. What I like is that it keeps you full for a few good hours; you won’t need anything else.
It surprisingly keeps well in the fridge for about two days, covered or in a container. If you want to reheat it, put it in the microwave or the oven, drizzled with a bit of sour cream or milk on top to prevent it from drying out. I don’t recommend reheating it on the stove, as it sticks and loses its charm. If you freeze it, it loses some of its texture, but it still works.
Ingredients and why I use them this way:
- 1.5 liters of water – the base for polenta, to boil freely, so it’s not sticky
- 1 teaspoon of salt – adds flavor; otherwise, it’s really bland
- 300g cornmeal – not just any cornmeal, but the finer kind, so it doesn’t come out with big lumps, but also not too coarse
- 100g salty cheese – the main flavor, salty, fatty, makes the whole dish
- 50g butter – for shine, flavor, and to prevent everything from being dry
- 1 egg – binds and forms the crust on top; don’t skip it
- 2-3 triangles of melted cheese – for a creamy texture and a slightly different flavor
- 1-2 smoked sausages – for flavor, fat, just the right amount of salt, it’s the ingredient everyone fights over