Polenta "Chips"

This recipe has been modified from this one in the River Cottage Veg book. They are so good, I cooked them for some friends who came round recently, and regularly make them when I fancy something different. I forgot to take any photos the last time I made them, but I'll edit this page when I next cook them! Photo below is courtesy of Taste.com. 

They do take some planning, as you need to let the polenta cool slightly to chop into "chips". I also bake, rather than fry them. 

Ingredients

(This would serve 2 hungry adults)
100g quick cook polenta, 
400mls water, 
1 clove garlic finely diced, 
few sprigs of rosemary, again finely diced. (I used scissors to make chopping easier)
olive oil for brushing

You can scale this recipe up or down using 50g polenta with 200mls water. 

Method

1. Measure out the water and place in a saucepan to boil. 
2. Find a baking tray with high edges and line with greaseproof paper. 
3. Add the finely chopped garlic and rosemary to the water, followed by the polenta, stirring continuously. 
4. Follow the instructions for cooking polenta on your packet, but generally it suggests cooking for about 5minutes for a "firm" polenta. Take care, as it bubbles volcanically! 
5. Once cooked, tip the polenta into the baking tray, and spread it as evenly as you can.
6. Leave to cool for at least 1 hour. 
7. When cool, turn the polenta out, remove the greaseproof paper and cut into "chip" shapes. 
8. Place the chips on a baking tray (I usually line this with greaseproof paper too, as my baking trays are  rubbish!)
9. Brush with olive oil and place in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 45minutes, turning once to crisp up the other side. If you prefer them crispier, then just cook for a bit longer. 

Try adding some chillies if you're making this for the grown ups!

If you are making these just for an adult audience, then add some salt and pepper, and possibly some dried chilli flakes to the boiling water. 


Try some of my other dairy free recipes by clicking on the pictures below:

See all my dairy free recipes here. 

Butternut Squash "Chips"

It's getting quite exciting with the blog now. People are approaching me to tell me that they have tried some of the recipes on the blog. Turkey burgers and the Jamie Oliver cookies have gone down especially well so far. 

T likes being able to feed himself, and these went down well, as they were the perfect size for him to hold. Broccoli used to be his absolute favourite (cue smug organic mummy face), but all of a sudden, he went off of it, and now Dog gets copious helpings at mealtimes as it is all thrown on the floor. 

The fabulous people in our local fruit and veg shop commented that I've been going there an awful lot lately. Ha! I think it's because so much ends up on the floor. (Again, I doubt dear Dog is complaining). We've recently tried buying a suction bowl to stop the free flow of food from highchair downwards, and while it seems to be working, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before T works out how to fling this along with everything else, over the side. 

Butternut squash "Chips"

In reality, you could make these "chips" out of any finger food you want: carrots and courgette sticks spring to mind, even sweet potato and aubergine as well, though I'd imagine you'd need more care cooking them, to prevent them turning to mush. 

I chopped one small butternut squash into fingers and steamed these for about 10minutes (can't tell you exactly I'm afraid!), just until they were soft enough to allow a knife to pierce them, then cooled them under some cold running water so they didn't continue to cook in their own heat. 

Alternatively, place on a non-stick baking tray, brush with olive oil and a little chopped rosemary and place in an oven at about 180C for 20-30mins (depending on how thick you've chopped them), and you and baby can enjoy them? 

In order to save time, (which I'm all for!), why not make this at the same time as my butternut squash and red lentil dish, or even at the same time as my Cheeky Courgette and butternut pasta? (Recipe to follow soon!)

Enjoy!