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Fried Polenta Crutons

Last Modified: 05/12/10
First Published: 05/12/10
Views: 698
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Views: 698

polenta crutons

If you have polenta leftovers from the day before, or if you would just like to try something a bit different, then polenta croutons would be nice to make. If you're a bit tired of regular old bread crumbs, then using polenta will definitely provide a different experience. You could either fry these in a pan on the stove, or you could bake / broil them in the oven if you don't feel like standing by stove, or if you're cooking for a lot of people. These won't turn out crispy like ordinary bread croutons, however they will be delicious nonetheless.

polenta

The most important thing here, is first of all to let any leftover polenta you might have set in a wide pan so you don't get one big chunk (if that was the case, then you could always slice it, however that would be a bit more work). This should be done before it cools ideally. Then when you're ready to make the croutons (next day or two hours after the polenta was made), simply turn the pan on a cutting board, and cut bite size pieces.

On the stove:
Heat up a cast iron pan and add plenty of butter and oil. Place the polenta pieces in the pan and let cook for a couple of minutes on each side. If you want some garlic, then add that at the last minute to the pan and cook along with the polenta. Remove the croutons from the pan and set on paper towels to drain.

In the oven:
Put the oven on 450 degrees or use the broiler. Distribute the polenta pieces on a sheet pan. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the pieces, and bake high up in the oven for 1-2 minutes, then take the pan out, turn the pieces and do another 1-2 minutes, depending on how quickly they are browning.

Serve on top of a salad, on top of a soup, or just next to a piece of meat of fish.