Honey Mustard Chicken bake w/ Crispy Polenta Fries

As promised, the third recipe of the day!

This is what I made for dinner today because I wanted to use as much "leftover" ingredients that I had laying around the kitchen. Simplify it by all means, lose the veggies or the Ricotta - I just wanted a wholesome meal, and a clear fridge!

A short list of what I wanted to use up:

• Butternut squash

• Ricotta

• purple onion

• chicken breast

• polenta

I ended up baking all the veggies with some garlic & herbs, then added the chicken and the honey-mustard glaze, topped with some Parm and finished it all in the oven until it was lovely and brown! By the way - best decision ever to turn the polenta into cheesy fries, they turned out delishhh! I also whipped up a super quick homemade mayo with grainy mustard in my trusty mini food processor to compliment the crispy texture of these!

It was my first time making mayo at home, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Next time I'm gonna whisk it by myself though, I'm eager to see how that's gonna look like, haha!

Let's dive into the recipe, shall we.

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INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

• 2 whole chicken breast (approx. 400g)

• 200g polenta

• 1 small purple onion, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

• 1/2 chilli, cut diagonally

• 50g Parmigiano Reggiano

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (I used sage because I ran out of rosemary)

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grainy mustard

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 egg yolk

• juice of 1/2 lemon, approx.

• 15-20 ml vegetable oil, approx.

• salt & pepper to taste

Start out with your polenta! By doing so, you'll have enough time to cool it, and to prepare all the other ingredients that you need for your chicken bake. Cook it according to package instructions - boil either water or milk in a pot over medium/high heat, while seasoning generously with salt. Once it does, add in your polenta, thyme and freshly ground nutmeg, and stir with a whisk.

Reduce your heat to medium, and stir constantly until the polenta thickens. When it naturally starts to thicken, remove it from the heat and enhance the flavour by adding butter and the Parm. Whisk until they melt, and season with pepper and more salt - taste before you season!

Grease a wide rectangular or square shaped tray/glass dish with olive oil, and pour in your polenta. Place it in the fridge to cool.

While our polenta is in the fridge, let's prepare the veggies. You'll notice that I didn't include the Butternut squash and the ricotta in the ingredient list - I did so because I whacked those in just to clean out my fridge,

Can you make it without them, or add the veggies that YOU like - you absolutely SHOULD!

Next, preheat your oven at 200°C. Chop your onion into chunks, and peel your garlic.

Slice the chilli diagonally, and add the chopped vegetables into a roasting dish.

Season with salt & pepper, add in your rosemary (or any other herbs) + the olive oil.

Toss to coat evenly, cover with aluminium foil and set it all into the oven for 20 minutes before adding your chicken.

Now that your veggies are in the oven, you can mix your glaze for the chicken!

Add the Dijon and 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard into a small bowl, mix and add a squeeze of lemon juice, honey, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt & pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

I also added 2 tablespoons of Ricotta, which is optional for you guys!

For the mayo, I added the egg yolk, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt & pepper to a small food processor. You can also whisk it by hand - just incorporate the oil in a steady stream, and whisk vigorously.

I added the oil a bit at a time, making sure to mix well before I added more.

To be quite fair, I don't know exactly how much oil I used, I just kept on adding until it

began to thicken. When its whipped, add the grainy mustard and mix to incorporate.

If your mayo thickens up to much, use a little bit more oil to loosen it up!

After 20 minutes, take out your veggies from the oven, and add your chicken on top.

Pour your glaze over the chicken, cover it with the aluminium foil again, and set in the oven for another 20-25 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, check if your polenta is cool enough. It should have formed a light skin on top, and feel cold to the touch. Turn the dish upside down on a cutting board, and remove the polenta. Cut it with a large knife - first into vertical strips, followed by a horizontal cut to portion into fries. Set them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, brushing the tops and sides with olive oil.

Once your chicken is done, remove it from the oven, and grate some parmesan cheese over the top. Return it to the oven without the foil for approx. 5 more minutes, while cranking up the heat to 220°C, and by setting your oven to broil.

Lastly, bake your polenta fries at the same temperature for approx. 10 - 15 minutes, until they become crunchy and golden brown on the edges!

P.S.

These cheesy polenta fries would also be awesome for a party snack!

Make them in big batches, and serve with any dip that you like!

I suggest to cool the polenta overnight though - handling it while it's completely cool will make it much more easier, especially if you work in bigger quantities!

Enjoy your dinner guys, as always - I hope I helped!

x, Lora