Thursday, March 18, 2010

For the love of deep frying

Recently, on The Twitter there was talk of Polenta Fries, something I have made many times. I was surprised that people actually had not hear about, or tried these delectable treats. It's a great way to use up left over polenta and change it up, especially if you are the only one eating and have a lot leftover. So easy to do and very rewarding from a taste and texture perspective.

I decided to do cubes this time, as they cook faster and more evenly, also I thought it would be more fun. At the last minute, I decided to throw some prosciutto into the hot oil and make chips to serve with the polenta and the Spicy Ketchup I mixed up. VERY tasty, both of these savoury morsels will most definitely be making an appearance at my next cocktail party. 

You could use homemade polenta, but I don't know if it would work as I have yet to make it from scratch. I just buy a log from the the grocery store, as I know the consistency works for this recipe.

Deep Fried Polenta Cubes with Spicy Ketchup
1 log of polenta
1/2 cup of flour
1 tablespoon salt
Oil for frying

I used regular ketchup and spicy chilli sauce 50-50 ratio for dipping.

  • The oil should be heated to between 350 and 375 fahrenheit, and you can test when it is hot enough with an all wooden chopstick, it will bubble when the oil is ready to go. 
  • Slice the polenta 1/2 inch thick and cut into uniform cubes so they all cook at the same rate.
  • Toss the cubes in the flour and salt, you can then shake them out in a wire colander back over your mixing bowl.  
  • Add carefully to the hot oil, I use my slotted spoon and slid them in so there is no splatter.
  • You will need to watch them carefully as they will cook in about 2-3 minutes.
  • When they are all floating they should be ready, but I left them in for an additional minute after that point. 
  • Remove with a slotted spoon and set on paper towel. 
  • Salt immediately. You can also apply parmesan at this stage for additional flavour if you are eating them plain.
  • They will cool relatively quickly and should be served hot.
Thats all folks, easy-peasy!

Sorry about these last two, I forgot to take pictures but did take some on my phone to post on twitter to tease everyone. 

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