[PestoDiRucola]

> Nor was there corn for polenta

Before corn, polenta was made with barley: https://historicalitaliancooking.home.blog/english/recipes/a...

[antisthenes]

In my mind, polenta was just another word for porridge, which means it could be made with literally any available grain.

It's just a roughly milled grain, boiled until a certain consistency.