Baked Polenta Fries with Marinara Dipping Sauce
Why I Love This Recipe
We snack a LOT in our house and these Baked Polenta Fries are perfect for satisfying that hunger between meals and also make a great side dish to any lunch or dinner. Baked not fried –– gives them a lighter quality and easily accompanies the quick and easy marinara sauce.
Submitted by: "Elizabeth Van Huffel @LocalSavour"
Ingredients You'll Need
For the fries:
1 1/2 cups polenta or corn meal
2 cups milk ( I used 2%)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - shredded
2 Tablespoons olive oil
For the sauce:
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon fresh oregano - chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh basil - chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic clove - chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Place a heavy duty pan over medium high heat. Add the milk and the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the polenta in slowly in a steady stream to help avoid lots of lumps while using a whisk to stir it together. Continue to stir until all of the lumps are out of the polenta and the polenta will begin to form and thicken. Once polenta is formed (after about 12-15 minutes) remove from heat and add the salt and parmesan cheese and continue to stir until well incorporated.
Line a small cookie sheet (quarter sheet works best) or pan with parchment paper or foil. Pour polenta out into the lined pan and spread polenta evenly over the pan. Place polenta in the refrigerator for 3 hours up to over night to chill polenta completely.
Once chilled, remove from the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Remove paper (or foil) with the polenta and place onto a working space. Brush olive oil all over the top to the polenta. Cut out the fry shapes, rectangles and place fries oil side down onto a cookie sheet, leaving a little room between each to avoid sticking. After all of the polenta is cut and placed on the cookie sheet, brush the tops with the remainder of the olive oil.
Place cookie sheet into the oven for 10-12 minutes then flip polenta and bake the other side for another 10-12 minutes or until desired crispness is achieved.
To make the marinara sauce:
Place a small pan over medium low heat, add olive oil and garlic to the pan and saute for one minute. Next add tomato sauce, water, oregano, basil, sugar and salt and stir well. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Serve polenta warm with marinara sauce for dipping.