Chefs' Recipes

121BC's crisp polenta, baby artichoke, peas and aioli

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for 121BC's crisp polenta, baby artichoke, peas and aioli.

By Andrew Cibej
  • 30 mins preparation
  • 50 mins cooking plus chilling, cooling
  • Serves 6
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121BC: Crisp polenta, baby artichoke, peas and aioli
"This is a bit of a spring tasting plate with some comfortingly salty crisp polenta. It's a sort of a reckless salad." Andrew Cibej, 121BC

Ingredients

  • 100 ml milk
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 125 gm fine yellow polenta, plus extra for dusting
  • 20 gm (¼ cup) finely grated parmesan
  • For deep-frying: vegetable oil
  • 10 baby artichokes, trimmed, chokes removed, placed in acidulated water
  • For dusting: seasoned plain flour
  • ¼ cup each (firmly packed) flat-leaf parsley and sage leaves
  • 6 small rosemary sprigs
Aioli
  • 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 225 ml olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Pea dressing
  • 90 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 30 ml lemon juice
  • 1 tsp finely chopped mint
  • 100 gm podded peas (200gm unpodded)

Method

Main
  • 1
    Bring milk, bay leaf and 750ml water to the simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add polenta in a steady stream, whisking continuously, bring to the simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and stir occasionally until polenta is thick (20-25 minutes). Add parmesan, season to taste and pour into a 3cm-deep, 12cm x 8cm tray lined with plastic wrap. Smooth top with a wet palette knife, refrigerate until firm (3-4 hours). Turn onto a board, cut into 4cm x 2.5cm pieces and refrigerate until required.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, for aioli, preheat oven to 180C. Combine garlic in a small ovenproof frying pan with 125ml olive oil and roast until garlic is tender (15-20 minutes). Set aside to cool, remove garlic from oil (reserve oil for another use), then process in a small food processor with yolk and half the lemon juice until combined. With motor running, add remaining olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil in a thin steady stream until thick. Add remaining lemon juice, season to taste, thin with a little warm water if necessary, and set aside.
  • 3
    For pea dressing, whisk oil, juice and mint until combined, season to taste and set aside. Blanch peas until bright green (1-2 minutes; see cook's notes p218), drain, toss in dressing, season to taste and keep warm.
  • 4
    Reduce oven to 100C. Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over high heat, dust polenta pieces in polenta, shake off excess, then deep-fry, turning occasionally, until golden (3-4 minutes; be careful as hot oil will spit). Transfer to an oven tray and keep warm in oven.
  • 5
    Dust artichokes in flour then deep-fry, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp (2-3 minutes; be careful as hot oil will spit). Transfer to a tray lined with absorbent paper and season to taste.
  • 6
    Fry herbs in oil until crisp (30 seconds-1 minute). Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
  • 7
    Serve polenta scattered with peas, artichokes and herbs, with aioli.

Notes

You'll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.
This recipe is from the September 2011 issue of
.
Drink Suggestion: 2008 Viticoltori De Conciliis Antece Fiano, Campania, Italy.