Back in fuck-knows-how-long-ago, I bought a packet of ready-made polenta. I have no idea why I bought it but I did and it stayed in my cupboard until I realised I was never going to use it and it was approximately twenty-three thousand years out of date anyway, so I threw it away.
My experience in polenta remained at zero until my writing group’s Christmas meal at Pizza Express where I tried one of my friend’s polenta fries she’d ordered as a side dish. Oh man, it was good! It was so good, when I got my Optimum HealthyFry the other week, I had a flashback to that polenta chip and thought yeah, I’m going to make me some crispy polenta fries.
If you have no idea what polenta is, it’s something to do with Italian peasants and you can either buy it as a grain, or in a ready-made block, as was the case here. I got mine in Tesco in the pasta aisle for 75p which works out at 37-and-a-half-p per portion (which apropos of nothing is how much a dog licence used to cost in the olden days).
No matter how loyal you are to the good old potato chip, you need to try these polenta chips and you can serve them with whatever you’d usually serve potato chips with. I made spicy ones with chilli flakes, obvs, but you could use any herbs or spices you like or just have them plain – they’re crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and I keep having them for lunch, like the fat greedy bloater I am.
- ½ pack ready made polenta, cut into wedges/chips
- Olive oil spray
- Salt and pepper
- Chilli flakes, or your choice of herbs and/or spices
- Pre-heat your air fryer at 60C for 3 minutes
- Lightly spray the polenta chips with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes (or whatever you're using)
- Evenly spread on the air fryer basket
- Air fry for 25 minutes at 190C, turning over half way through
1 comment
Oooh they look delicious! I need to try them. And the Air Fryer looks so useful.