Fast and fresh herb polenta chips with aioli

Herb polenta chips

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and loaded with flavour, these baked polenta chips are easy to make and deliciously addictive. It is the easiest side dish or appetiser and can be served with yummy dips for dunking.

1 cup polenta

4 cups water

Handful rosemary

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp oregano

1 cup parmesan cheese

200ml soy milk

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

½ lemon juice

1 tsp sea salt

1 clove garlic without centre

500ml sunflower oil

In a food processor, blender or hand mixer, blend the garlic with salt, lemon juice, soy milk and mustard until frothy.

While mixing slowly but consistently, add the sunflower oil until it thickens.

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This recipe uses a lot of oil but don't be afraid, you need it all to make a good sauce. The more oil you put in, the thicker the aioli and the better it will emulsify. But if you add too much, the emulsion will be unstable.

If the aioli splits, don't panic, just start over. Into the blender add half the amount of milk, the same amount of salt, garlic and mustard, and instead of adding 500ml of oil, add the split aioli mixture. It works like magic.

Blend the garlic, rosemary and oregano with one cup of water.

In a large pot add the herb water, garlic and three more cups of water and bring to the boil. Add a pinch of salt.

Once the water is boiling, slowly add the polenta while stirring with a whisk. It is important not to add the polenta all at once without whisking as this can cause lumps of uncooked polenta to form.

Leave for a minute until big bubbles start to form then turn the heat off and stir while adding the parmesan. For a vegan option you can skip the cheese and add a heaped tablespoon of nutritional yeast instead.

Line a rectangular baking tray with baking paper and transfer the polenta to this dish. Leave the polenta to cool down. It is very important for it to be cold before it is made into chips.

Once cold, flip the polenta on to a chopping board and cut it into the shape you want. Transfer the pieces back to the lined baking tray and drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Leave space between each chip as you do not want them touching.

Cook for approximately 25 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees or in the air fryer until the polenta chips are crispy. This can take more time depending on your oven. Flip them halfway through cooking to ensure both sides get crispy.