Zest Salt Polenta Chips with Lemon Garlic Aioli

Difficulty: Easy | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 35 min | Total: 110 min | Serves: 4 | Dietary: Gluten-Free, Vegan

Polenta chips are the sleeper hit of any spread. Crunchy shell, soft custardy middle, and they hold seasoning far better than a hot chip does. Chooki's Zest Chicken Salt goes on the second they come out of the oven while the surface is still steaming, so the lemony hit sticks to every edge instead of falling off onto the tray.

Step 1: Cook the Polenta

Bring the stock to the boil in a big saucepan. Pour the polenta in a slow steady stream with one hand while you whisk hard with the other, or you will get lumps you can't fix later. Drop the heat right down and stir for 5 minutes until it's thick enough that the whisk leaves a trail behind it. Take it off the heat and stir through 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the Zest salt.

Step 2: Set and Cut

Tip it into a lined 20cm x 30cm tray and smooth it out to about 2cm thick. Into the fridge for an hour until it's firm enough to hold a knife line. Turn the slab out onto a board and cut it into chips about two fingers wide.

Step 3: Bake

Oven to 220C fan-forced. Toss the chips with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and spread them on a lined tray with a gap between each one, because if they touch they steam instead of crisping. Bake for 35 minutes, turning them once at the 20 minute mark, until the edges are deep golden and crackly.

Step 4: Season and Dip

Stir the mayo, garlic, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of Zest salt together in a small bowl. Hit the hot chips with the last tablespoon of Zest salt straight off the tray, give them a shake, and get them out while they're still crunchy.

Tip: Wet your spatula before smoothing the polenta in the tray. Nothing sticks to it, the top comes out flat, and flat means every chip bakes to the same crunch.