Baked Polenta Fries with Ricotta and Rosemary

Ideal with a smoked sage salt or a garlic aioli, these polenta sticks are wonderfully crisp for a fun appetizer or side.

Originally these ricotta and polenta chips were going to be fried. In fact I started to do so, but I was creating a bit of a mess. Plus the polenta chips were soaking up far more oil than my brain and hips felt comfortable with.

A light bulb moment occurred as I was scraping, prodding and trying to flip a chip that was falling apart and looking pretty inedible. Why aren’t I baking these babies instead of frying them?

There is far less mess in the oven. No hot oil to deal with and associated cleaning up. You know, those splatters that cover not only you but the stove and half the kitchen.

The result, wonderfully crunchy polenta chips. I feel baking gives you a far superior polenta chip than frying.

See Also

Polenta Flan with Gorgonzola

I served them on this occasion with a simple to make smoked sage salt. But I do feel they would go just as well with garlic aioli.

Find more innovative Italian-inspired recipes here.

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• Author: Sara McCleary
• Category: Appetizer, Side
• Cuisine: Italian-Inspired

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 L 33.8 fluid ounces chicken stock
• 160 g 5.6 ounces polenta
• 100 g 3.5 ounces parmesan cheese
• 200 g 7 ounces ricotta
• 25 g 0.88 ounces butter
• 20 g 0.7 ounces rosemary

Smoke Sage Salt

• 20 g 0.7 ounces smoked salt
• 20 g 0.7 ounces sea salt
• 5 g 0.17 ounces sage, finely chopped

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Instructions

1. Line a rectangular brownie tin with plastic wrap.
2. In a large saucepan bring stock to the boil. Add polenta and reduce to a simmer. Continuously stir until the polenta is cooked through and all the stock has been absorbed.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir through parmesan, ricotta, butter and rosemary.
4. Leave to cool slightly and then place mixture in tin and smooth out evenly. Place plastic wrap over the top of the polenta mix. Smooth well with hands and place in the fridge for a few hours until chilled and set. I find it works best when left in the fridge overnight.
5. When the polenta is set and you are ready to cook, preheat oven at 180 deg C (360 deg F).
6. Remove wrap from the top of the polenta, and carefully turn out in one piece on to a chopping board. Remove the rest of the wrap. Cut polenta into 2cm square fingers/chips.
7. Place in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes until golden and crunchy.
8. While polenta chips are baking, make the smoked sage salt but combining salt and sage in a bowl.
9. When chips are ready remove from oven and serve immediately with the smoked sage salt.

Notes

I used rosemary as my herb of choice in these polenta chips. You don’t have to; rosemary could quite easily substituted with thyme, basil, or even sage. But if you do decide to use sage, then hold back on using the smoked sage salt. Follow my aioli suggestion instead.