Chilli Polenta Chips

This is a really quick and easy dinner. The longest part of it is waiting for the polenta mixture to cool down. If you were really organised you could make the polenta before you headed out the door in the morning (trust me, if you use instant polenta it takes all of about 2 minutes), and then you just have to bake the chips and make the salad when you come home. Too easy!

Chilli Polenta Chips with garlicky aioli

1 cup instant polenta
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or two spoons if you like some zing!)
1 cup grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt, to taste

1 - Put the stock and butter into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2 - Add the polenta in a slow stream, stirring vigorously the whole time so no lumps form. Let simmer for two minutes, or until the polenta mixture is very thick (Word from the wise: watch out for polenta spits. They really hurt).

3 - Take the pan off the heat, and add the chilli and cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted in.

4 - Pour the polenta mixture into a very well greased baking dish. Smooth out the top, then let cool.

5 - Cut the polenta mixture into chips, then put the chips on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. You can sprinkle some extra polenta on top of the chips here if you like, I but always forget. It just makes them a bit crunchier. Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes, or until crunchy on top. Sprinkle with sea salt, and serve with aioli and a simple green salad (I just threw together some cos lettuce leaves and sun dried tomatoes that I had in the fridge. Easy and tasty!)

Aioli

1 - Mix the mayo, garlic and lemon juice together. Add salt to taste. That's it!