The other evening I was out for dinner with my family at Cavallo Nero, a lovely restaurant in Ancaster. I decided to try their polenta fries, and because I was so impressed with them and how absolutely delicious they were, I figured I would find out how to make them at home. This recipe comes from Salted Plains.
You will need:
- 2 cups of chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, or a milk of your choice
- 1 1/2 cups or 254g of polenta or cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter or vegan butter
- 1/2 cup of 105g of nutritional yeast (I use Bragg’s)
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for brushing
Begin by greasing and lining an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, allowing two sides to overhanging to use as handles. In a large saucepan, bring your broth and milk of choice to a boil, turning the heat down to medium once it reaches a boil. Gradually add the polenta to the saucepan, whisking continuously. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low, continuing to whisk until a thick and creamy consistency is reached, roughly for 7-8 minutes. You’ll want a lower heat that keeps it from splattering. Remove from heat and add your butter, nutritional yeast, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste, mixing together while you add these ingredients. Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan and press polenta into an even and smooth layer. Refrigerate for two hours or overnight, and when ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Lift out the slab of polenta and transfer to a cutting board. Slice it into 18 (4 x 1-inch) strips and place onto a greased baking sheet. Brush each strip with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15 minutes, carefully flip over strips, and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes more or until crispy and browned on the edges.
I am unable to eat this particular recipe because it contains both yeast and butter, but I would be surprised if there wasn’t a way to make this without these two ingredients. Give it a try! They’re delicious.
Photo credit: <a href=”https://visualhunt.com/author/2829f9″>mmmyoso</a> on <a href=”https://visualhunt.com/re/08c477″>Visualhunt</a> / <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”> CC BY-NC-ND</a>
