’ve always been quite intrigued about polenta. It’s not a food I’ve cooked with often, but my partner is a coeliac and it’s a naturally gluten-free food, so I’m not really sure why I haven’t tried this sooner. I’ve only ever eaten polenta in some kind of fried form at gastro pubs or semi-fancy restaurants so I decided to give that a go. I used an adaptation of a salt and pepper squid recipe and applied it to ready-to-cook polenta. It was rather delicious if I do say so myself. Using the ready-to-serve polenta was so easy and made a simple meat and veg dinner just that little bit fancier. This is a good one to try when you have mates coming over for dinner. They’ll think you’re a kitchen super whizz. For real.
Mint lamb cutlets with pan-fried polenta and green bean salad
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Ingredients:
1kg packet ready-to-serve polenta
Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 lamb cutlets
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 bunch mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tsp caster sugar
500g round green beans
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
Method:
1. Open your packet of polenta and cut it into 1cm strips.
2. Heat 3cm of vegetable oil in a frypan. When the oil is hot, cook 5 or 6 polenta pieces at a time, cooking each side for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and pepper and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
3. Cook your lamb cutlets in two batches in a frypan with a dash of oil. About 2-4 minutes, each side, or until they’re done to your taste.
4. Combine white wine vinegar, mint and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
5. Steam green beans in stovetop steamer for about 5 minutes. Gently pan-fry the pine nuts in a small frypan for 1 minute or until they’re golden brown and crispy. Place steamed beans, pine nuts, parmesan cheese in a bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
6. Serve lamb cutlets with mint sauce, polenta pieces and green bean salad on a plate. Bon appetite!
TIP:
Ready-to-serve polenta comes as a pre-cooked brick and is available in the international section of most supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can make your own by following the packet recipe, pressing it into a brownie pan and letting it cool for several hours.
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Have you cooked with polenta before? How did you find it?
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