Baked Chickpea and Polenta Fries

This recipe was inspired by one that my husband and I tried while on vacation for our anniversary.  They fried theirs and served it with a black olive aioli.  I thought I would give it a spicier twist and came up with a dipping sauce of my own.  You can customize this recipe by using all cornmeal or all chickpea flour, depending on your tastes.  I enjoyed the 50/50 recipe written below, but will be trying these again with more chickpea and less cornmeal.

Ingredients:

Fries:

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (or to taste)

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 1/4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock or water)

 

Lemon Parmesan Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 dashes hot sauce of choice (or to taste)

juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Grease a 9×9 pan.

In a medium bowl combine the chickpea flour, cornmeal and seasonings and whisk until well mixed.  Set this aside.

In a sauce pan add the stock and oil and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium heat and add the chickpea and cornmeal mixture.

Stir this mixture well.  It may take a few minutes to stir the lumps out.  Cook for two minutes.

Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it into the 9×9 pan.  Spread the mixture evenly with a spatula.  Wait 15 minutes to let the mixture cool.  If you plan to eat them right away you can leave the pan out (covered lightly with foil) on the counter for 90 minutes or you can cover it lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mixture for later use.

When you are ready to eat the fries, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Invert the 9×9 pan so that the mixture, which will be solid now, is on the counter.  Cut the block of fries in half, then cut each half into 10-15 pieces, about 3/4 inch in thickness.

Place the fries down on a greased baking sheet as shown.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and flip them.  Bake a further 20 minutes.  Serve these hot with the Lemon Parmesan dipping sauce.  To make the sauce, simply combine all the ingredients and stir well.  The sauce will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.