Garlic and Rosemary Polenta Chips

Hello!

Finally all of my university work has been handed in and my exams are done!!

Undergraduate degree over!!!

I can't believe it! And I'm not really sure what to do with myself from now until October, when I go back to university to do my Masters degree.

Posting on my blog a bit more sounds like a good place to start!!

I have recently been to the Jamie Oliver restaurant in Cardiff, Jamie's Italian.

They have polenta chips there, which are very nice!! They do polenta chips or regular chips with rosemary and garlic. 

I saw a packet of pre-made polenta in the supermarket the other day, and had instant cravings for the polenta chips from Jamie's restaurant. 

Only I decided to combine his 2 flavours of chips for an ultimate polenta chip!

Recipe:

- Polenta (pre-made or make up your own)

- 2 garlic cloves 

- Rosemary (I used fresh, but dried will be fine)

- Olive oil

- Salt

        

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. I started off by peeling and slicing the garlic cloves, chopping the rosemary and sprinkling salt all over the tray.

3. Cover with a drizzle of olive oil, or any oil. Mine looks white because I used Fry Light's spray olive oil.

4. Cut the polenta into chip-sized wedges. Thick or thin, its personal preference!

5. Roll the chips around on the tray and turn them to coat them in the garlicy rosemary salty goodness.

6. Pop them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, and turn them once after 15 minutes.

The polenta chips should come out looking golden and crispy!

Now that I have opened the bag, I need to find something else to do with polenta. Polenta is quite new to me, so I'm not sure what else I can do. Any ideas?

Zoe x

Penne Carbonara

Carbonara, my sister's favourite! 

Creamy sauce with salty bacon. I like to add chicken, mushrooms and sweetcorn aswell.

This was taken from Jamie Oliver, and altered by me!

Serves 4

Recipe:

- 500g pasta/spaghetti (I like penne, Jamie uses Farfalle)

- 1 egg

- 100ml double cream

- Salt and pepper

- 6 rashers of smoked bacon, sliced (I used scissors and cut it into the pan)
- 2 chicken breasts, in cubes

- Peas (I use frozen)

- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta, and cook according to the packet instructions.

2. Whisk the egg in a mug with the cream, salt and pepper.

3. Heat some oil in a second pan and cook the bacon until crispy and golden.

4. When the pasta is nearly cooked, add the peas for the last minute and a half. When cooked, drain in a colander.

5. Add the pasta to the bacon - if the pan isn't big enough, mix it in a large warmed bowl.

6. Add the egg and cream mix to the pasta. Its important to add it while the pasta is still hot, so that the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs, but not so that they resemble scrambled eggs! The pasta will actually cook the egg enough to give you a silky smooth sauce.

7. Toss everything together.

8. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Zoe x