Polenta, if you’ve never had it, is a gluten-free corn thing-y that can be served almost like a porridge or, my preference, allowed to solidify, then cut into cakes and fried.
Well, air fried, in this case.
Some folx claim to enjoy it with ketchup but I think it was made for the simple, nicely spicy tomato sauce that I made to go along with the Baked Cod we were having with the polenta for diner that evening. All in all, a match made in heaven.
INGREDIENTS
•Polenta
•Olive oil
•Seasoning
Sauce:
•1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 clove garlic crushed
•1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
•5 tbsp parsley chopped
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•28 oz crushed tomatoes
•1/2 tsp sugar
•1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 tsp dried oregano
•1 tbsp sherry vinegar
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
First, let’s make the sauce:
Add oil to a large pan over medium heat.
Once hot, add garlic and saute for three to five minutes or until golden.
Add red pepper flakes and 3 tablespoons of parsley; stir.
Add tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, and oregano and simmer for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Sauce dealt with, let’s air fry!
Note: I keep olive oil in a jar with a sprayer top for use in the air fryer. The canned cooking sprays have something in them that coats the racks, which are not dishwasher safe, and makes them hard to clean.
Heat your air fryer to 400º.
Slice the polenta into half inch discs and arrange in a single layer on your air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in stages.
Spray (or brush) one side
of the polenta cakes with olive oil and then season. I used this Garden Salad Seasoning from Penzeys, but you could use your fave steak seasoning or just a bit of salt and pepper.
Slide the rack of polenta into your air fryer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the polenta is turning a bit golden brown.
Remove the rack from the air fryer and turn the polenta over. Apply olive oil and seasoning to this side of the polenta and pop back into the air fryer for another ten minutes or so – until the polenta is golden nicely golden brown and mebbe a touch crispity around the edges.
Serve.
A note on polenta: I got mine from Trader Joe’s in the refrigerator case, but many supermarkets have it out on the shelves in the Italian foods section.