Better than French fries—and a great snack or appetizer. You can use other dipping sauces, but the simplicity of a good marinara is hard to beat here.

　　

Ingredients

makes 30 peices

　　1 teaspoon plus 1/2 cup olive oil

　　3 cups Basic Polenta (page 121), freshly made and hot

　　1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

　　2 teaspoons salt

　　1 cup Marinara Sauce (page 59)

　　

Step 1

Coat an 11 X 7-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon of oil. Transfer the hot polenta to the prepared baking dish, spreading evenly to 3/4 inch thick. Cover and refrigerate until cold and firm, about 2 hours.

　　

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Cut the polenta into 2 X 1-inch pieces. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the remaining 1/2 cup of oil over a medium-high flame. Working in batches, fry the polenta pieces until golden brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the polenta pieces to paper towels and drain. Place the polenta pieces on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining batches.

　　

Step 3

Transfer the polenta pieces to a serving platter. Sprinkle the polenta with the Parmesan cheese and salt, and serve, passing the marinara sauce alongside.

　　Cooks' Note

　　When I make polenta I like to use a heavy-bottomed saucepan because it cooks the polenta evenly and helps develop rich, creamy, sweet corn flavor.

　　Reprinted with permission from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.