Polenta Chips with Baby Artichokes and Sauce Vierge By Mark Dodson

We are delighted to share this wonderful starter recipe with you by Mark Dodson. If you’re looking for something different these crispy Polenta chips are the new taste sensation. They team up beautifully with the soft texture of baby artichokes and accompanied with the French inspired sauce vierge we are truly on to a winner!

Recipe courtesy of www.greatbritishchefs.com

Serves: 8 as a starter

Cooking Time: 60 minutes, plus cooling time

Equipment

• 24cm Copper Tri-ply Sauté Pan
• Copper Tri-ply Mini Casserole
• Deep-fat fryer or deep pan such as Copper Tri-ply 20cm Saucepan

Ingredients

Polenta

• 185g polenta
• 750ml whole milk
• 70g butter
• 100g Parmesan, finely grated
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Oil, for deep-frying
• 200g spinach
• Edible flowers, to garnish
• Parsley leaves, to garnish

Sauce vierge

• 200g tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and diced
• 8 basil leaves, finely sliced
• 1tsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
• 240ml extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Artichokes

• 12 baby artichokes
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 dash of white wine
• 1 dash of olive oil
• Sea salt

 Cooking Method

1. For the polenta chips, place a saucepan over a medium heat and add the milk and butter. Bring to the boil, then whisk in the polenta and cook for 2–3 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Add the Parmesan and whisk well, then season and pour into a deep tray or dish (but don’t allow the mixture to be spread too thin). Cover with cling film and set aside to cool.
2. Pick the outer leaves off the artichokes with your hands, then trim and shape the stalk with a sharp knife. Run the knife around the artichoke, removing the remnants of the outer leaves, then cut the top of the artichoke flat. Place the artichokes in a pan of water with the halved lemon to prevent discolouration.
3. Once all the artichokes are ready to be cooked, add a splash of white wine and olive oil to the pan. Season with salt and bring to a simmer, cooking gently until a knife can be inserted without too much resistance (about 10–20 minutes, depending on size). Leave to cool in the liquor.
4. For the sauce vierge, mix together all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to gently warm through before serving.
5. Heat a deep-fat fryer or deep pan of oil to 170°C. Unmould the cooled polenta and cut into thick chips, then deep-fry until golden (about 5 minutes) and keep warm.
6. While the polenta chips are frying, wilt the spinach in a dash of olive oil and keep warm.

To serve

When ready to serve, gently warm through the sauce vierge in a pan. Drain the artichokes, halve them and reheat in a pan with a little olive oil to give them some colour.