Polenta Fries with Creamy Chipotle Sauce (Recipe #56)

I have only had polenta a handful of times. I am going to be honest here--I did not know that grits and polenta were the same thing! I have learned a lot since I have started cooking in the past couple years! This recipe takes instant polenta and turns it into polenta fries! These fries are served with a slightly spicy sauce.

Overall, I really enjoyed the polenta fries! They were easy to make and delicious! I started by making the instant polenta on the stove. Off of the heat, I added lemon zest and oregano. I lined a 9x13’’ pan and poured the polenta into it. I sat it in the fridge for a couple of hours until I was ready to cook dinner--the book suggests at least 1 hour. When I was ready to make dinner, I turned the polenta out of the pan, cut it into fry-like pieces, and began frying them in a pan. It took about 6 minutes on each side to begin to crisp up. I had to fry them in batches because the recipe makes 32 fries and about 8 would fit in my pan at a time. As they came out of the pan, I salted them. I may or may not have eaten a few fries hot as they came out of the pan!

I served the polenta fries with a creamy chipotle sauce--there is another post on my blog just for this sauce recipe. I think the sauce was a great addition. It gave the fries a little kick and extra flavor. The fries were delicious on their own, but this sauce added another layer of great flavor. The next time that I make this, I would make this sauce to go with it! These fries made a great side dish! I can see them fitting with a sandwich or a burger. I can also see me making them just because they were delicious.

Taste: 10/10!

Level of difficulty: 1/5--To note, this was a bit time consuming.

Notes for next time: I enjoyed these and will be making them again just like the recipe says.