Polenta and chard chips with rich tomato sauce
- Published: 26 Jul 16
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Forget potato fries – Zita Steyn’s polenta and chard chips are the snacks of the future. Serve them with the rich tomato sauce and you’ve got yourself an unforgettable side.
Use up that open packet of polenta with one of our easy polenta recipes.
Ingredients
- 200g swiss or rainbow chard, or dark leafy greens
- 40g unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 280g medium or coarse polenta (we used quick-cook)
- 1 tsp salt
- Rapeseed oil for brushing
For the tomato sauce
- 1kg vine tomatoes, halved
- 2 large red onions, finely chopped
- Olive oil for roasting
- 2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 whole garlic bulb, skin on, cut in half horizontally
- Pinch cayenne pepper or clear honey to taste (optional)
Method
- Cut the stalks off the chard leaves, chop them into small pieces and set aside. Chop the leaves into bite-size pieces and set aside separately.
- In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter, then fry the onion with a pinch of salt over a medium heat. Add the chard stalks and cook for 5-10 minutes until tender, then add the leaves and sauté for 1 minute.
- Bring 1.4 litres water to the boil in a large saucepan, then stir in the polenta. Whisk with a balloon whisk until thickened, then stir in the salt and some pepper. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10-20 minutes until the polenta thickens and begins to come away from the side of the pan as you stir. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and smooth with the back of a spoon. Leave to cool, then chill for a few hours to set – it needs to be completely cold before cutting.
- To make the tomato sauce, heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. Toss the tomatoes and onions in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then season with salt and pepper and arrange in a baking tray, cut-side up. Roast for 2-2½ hours.
- Rub some oil on the cut sides of the garlic halves, then wrap in foil and roast for 1 hour or until soft.
- Scrape the tomatoes and onions into a blender, squeeze out the soft garlic from the skin and blend until smooth. Taste and season; add cayenne pepper if you want spice, honey if you want sweetness.
- Turn the oven up to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Cut the polenta into chips about 1.5cm thick and 8cm long. Put on a baking sheet and brush all over with rapeseed oil. Roast for 1 hour or until golden, carefully turning after 30 minutes. Warm the sauce to serve with the chips.
Recipe is from Zita Steyn’s cookbook Good Better Green, available from Quadrille for £16.99.
- Recipe from June 2016 Issue
Nutrition
Per serving (for 6)
- Calories
- 304kcals
- Fat
- 8.4g (3.6g saturated)
- Protein
- 7.4g
- Carbohydrates
- 47.1g (11.2g sugars)
- Fibre
- 5.3g
- Salt
- 0.2g
delicious. tips
The cooked, uncut polenta will keep for 2 days, covered, in the fridge. The sauce will keep for 5 days in a container; reheat before serving.
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