• Serve as a snack or with char-grilled steak or chicken.

    Crunchy olive polenta fingers with garlic aïoli

    Serves: 6
    Cooking Time: 50 mins plus extra for cooling

    Ingredients

    • GARLIC AÏOLI
    • 125ml (½ cup) good-quality mayonnaise
    • 1 garlic clove, crushed
    • 5ml (1 tsp) fresh lemon juice
    • sea salt
    • POLENTA FINGERS
    • 750ml (3 cups) chicken stock
    • 50g unsalted butter
    • 170g (1 cup) instant polenta
    • 65g (? cup) Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
    • 115g (? cup) instant polenta, extra, for dusting
    • 80ml (? cup) fresh rosemary leaves
    • sea salt

    Instructions

    1

    To make the garlic aïoli, place the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until needed.

    2

    For the polenta fingers, place the stock and butter in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and gradually add the polenta. Cook, stirring continuously until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the olives.

    3

    Spoon the mixture into a well-greased 1,5-litre-capacity (about 27,5cm x 16cm) rectangular ceramic dish and allow to cool completely.

    4

    Preheat the oven to 200°C.

    5

    Turn the polenta rectangle out onto a flat surface lightly dusted with the extra polenta and cut into pieces.

    6

    Place the polenta fingers on a lightly greased baking tray. Sprinkle the rosemary on top and bake until crunchy, about 25 minutes.

    7

    Sprinkle with salt and serve with the garlic aïoli.