Tuesday 6th October '09

PARMESAN POLENTA CHIPS

I've wanted to cook polenta for a long time now. I finally got around to it yesterday.

I found the polenta in the health food section of the supermarket. The instructions on the back said to use 3 cups of water to 1 cup of polenta; the recipe book I was flicking through said to use 1 cup of water to 1 cup of polenta. I thought I'd go with the recipe book this time.

I brought the water to the boil, then stirred in the polenta. It thickened up almost instantaneously and I quickly turned the heat down and stirred with a whisk continuously. The instructions on the packaging said that even though it looks cooked, it was important to keep cooking it for 10-15 minutes otherwise it would be grainy if it was undercooked.

I had to move the pot over to the smaller burner as the polenta was starting to spit. Because it was thick, air pockets were building up and then exploding unless I stirred it. After ten minutes, I stirred in 20g of butter and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.

I lined a shallow baking tray with baking paper and spread the polenta mix into it. The instructions said that it would require three hours to set. I left it overnight.

Today, I took the polenta out of the tray and it had set very well. I cut it into rectangular chips and then fried them in some oil in a pan. Once the side turned a golden brown, I turned them over to cook the other side and then drained them on some kitchen paper.

They were absolutely yummy! A hint of parmesan, and I especially loved the crispy sides that were fried, with the soft centre.

I enjoyed some with the roasted capsicum soup I made last night.


Dinner
Spaghetti with Calamari, Sundried Tomatoes & Eggplant

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