Peasant foods went chic so long ago it's easy to forget that short ribs and pork belly are cheap cuts of meat and that comfort foods like polenta are merely Italian grits.

Rustic peasant dishes - especially of French and Italian origin - have been elevated to such haute proportions these days that their humble roots are often obscured.

Consider a signature dish at Thomas Keller's French Laundry, one of the most lauded restaurants in America: braised beef cheeks paired with sliced calf's tongue. It would have been hard to predict that such lowly ingredients would one day fetch top dollar.

Given the current state of the economy, it may be high time for the budget-minded home cook to reclaim the homey foods that comprise "peasant cuisine." Such meals are structured around cheaper cuts of meats, seasonal ingredients, and basic starches such as pastas, bread and potatoes. Cooking techniques are equally simple. It's not about attempting the latest avant-garde gastronomic trends. Rather, there's an ease to this style of cooking, which is perhaps what has led many great chefs to romanticize this culinary tradition.

Consider coq au vin, a classic dish often used as a symbol of French elegance. Today it's typically made with chicken, but coq au vin - "rooster in wine" - originated as a way of tenderizing tough, old cocks by simmering them slowly in wine. The technique was regarded as peasant fare because wealthy homes could afford more tender cuts of meat.

There's no need for the modern cook to obtain a rooster to retain the earthy spirit of the dish. Most versions call for chicken to be browned in bacon fat and then simmered with a bottle of red wine and vegetables such as carrots, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. It's slow-cooking at its best, a concept that may seem incongruous in this era of 30-minute meals, but which results in rich, lusty flavors well worth the couple of hours (mostly unattended) needed to produce it.

Like most stews, this one improves with age, so it can be made a day ahead of time to allow the flavors to come together. You can serve it with a French baguette to soak up the sauce, or with an Italian staple - polenta.

Polenta is made from coarse-ground cornmeal that's boiled to create a smooth, creamy texture. It began as a Northern Italian staple, but eventually gained popularity throughout the country in two very different forms: a creamy mush, and firmer, cakelike forms that could take the place of pasta or bread at a meal.

While polenta is another traditionally slowly cooked dish - sometimes requiring an hour or more of constant stirring - there are many shortcuts available today, including instant polenta and precooked polenta sold in tubes at supermarkets. A frugal vehicle that can stretch small amounts of meat and vegetables into a complete meal, polenta works as a mild-flavored platform for anything from meat stews to garlicky vegetables and luxurious ingredients like lobster.

To make polenta croutons, spread cooked polenta in a pan until cool. Then cut it into 1-inch squares, brush with olive oil, and place under the broiler until golden, crisp and hot. Serve on top a stew, like Coq au Vin, in salads, or dipped into cheese fondue.

Yet polenta doesn't always have to be relegated to side-dish status. It can also stand on its own in a homey breakfast porridge and as a stand-in for flour in pizza crust or even fruitcake.

For an easy but gratifying meal, take a precooked polenta loaf and enliven it with tomato sauce (homemade or bottled), cheese, and fresh herbs in a riff on eggplant parmigiana. Simply sandwich sautéed eggplant between two layers of polenta, cover with tomato sauce and grated cheese, and bake in the oven. Between the soft, creamy texture of the polenta and familiar Italian-inspired flavors, it's an immensely comforting dish.

Stale bread is reborn in many Old World recipes that continue to be popular today - including soups such as gazpacho and ribollita, panzanella salad, and bread puddings.

Breathe new life into day-old bread by topping toasted thick slices with tomato, basil, blue cheese, and a mixture of onions and garlic that have been sautéed until golden and simmered in white wine. Bake until the cheese melts and the wine soaks through the bread, transforming it into a savory, cheesy pudding that can be a sophisticated starter or a vegetarian main course served with a green salad and a glass of wine.

The same basic principle applies to sweet puddings too, in which cheaper ingredients like flour can be used to stretch pricier goodies - such as fresh berries - into a more substantial dessert. A favorite variation, ironically, comes from the cookbook The Nantucket Table, a culinary tribute to an island once the home of whalers and ship captains, now the province of millionaires in summer homes, its cobblestone streets jammed with flashy SUVs.

Yet the book's homey recipe for "puzzle pudding" is timeless. Eggs, buttermilk, sugar, and flour, among other baking basics, are blended together into a batter poured over a mixture of berries. The recipe calls for strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, but use whatever combination of berries are plentiful - and, thus, more economical - at your market.

The pudding is topped with brown sugar and baked until the batter is set and some of the berries rise to the top, forming puzzlelike patterns at the surface. It can be served warm, or you can let it cool to bring out the flavor of the individual fruits. And, the leftovers make for a great breakfast treat in the morning.

If this is peasant fare, it's no wonder the rich - and the finest restaurants in the land - have caught on.

Coq au Vin With Cippoline Onions

Makes 4 to 6 servings