A tribute to one of my favourite – if not absolute favourite – Venetian dishes, “Baccala Mantecato” i.e. creamed salt cod, served with polenta, but not usually in the form of fat fries … so this is an India, or rather Indian palate friendly version, and whilst the tuna is no substitute for salt cod, I suspect it is far more accessible to the local palate, besides which these perfectly crunchy fat fries with their preciously airy interior take precedence in this assembly.
First and foremost, gather your ingredients for making the fries, which are quite simply polenta, parmesan and ordinary salted butter (IMAGE 1). I have sourced the polenta from Amazon, brand Food Library, Made in India.
YIELD : 1 TAPAS PLATTER PORTION (APPROXIMATELY 25 FRIES)
- 10g Amul Butter
- 125g Polenta plus 40g extra for coating
- 50g grated parmesan
- 40g plain flour for coating
First line a 10inch x 7inch baking dish with butter paper (STEP 1). Then pour 620ml of water into a pot, add the butter, place over moderate heat and bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down and pour in the polenta, stirring vigorously, and continue to stir consistently until the mixture thickens and begins to pull away from the sides of the pot; this can take anywhere between 8 to 15 minutes (STEPS 2 TO 6).
Then add the grated parmesan and salt and mix in thoroughly (STEP 7), and then spoon into the baking dish and smooth surface with the back of the spoon (STEPS 8 & 9), and leave it to set at room temperature.
In the meanwhile make the creamed tuna, for your Fat Polenta Fries, Tuna ‘Mantecato’.
YIELD: 2 TAPAS PLATTER PORTIONS
- 250g canned tuna (I have used brand John West in spring water)
- 110ml extra virgin olive oil
- 50ml milk
- 50ml amul cream
- 1 to 3 cloves garlic (depending on size and strength)
- 1 bay leaf
First drain the tuna and place it in a bowl (STEPS 1 & 2). Then heat the olive oil until hot but not sizzling and set aside. Then mix the milk and cream in a pot, add the bay leaf and garlic and bring it to a simmer, then take off the heat (STEPS 2 & 3), remove the bay leaf and garlic (STEP 4), and finely chop the garlic (STEP 5) and add it to the tuna (STEP 6). Beat the tuna and garlic with an electric beater, and with the beater running gradually add alternating streams of the warm olive oil and warm milk until they have all been incorporated, and then season with salt (STEPS 7 TO 9). Place the tuna in a container and refrigerate.
And now onto the creating of the fries for your Fat Polenta Fries, Tuna ‘Mantecato’ … remove the set polenta from the baking dish onto a chopping board, slice along the width into ¼ inch approx thick slices, trim jagged edges and then cut each one into two 3 inch fries (STEPS 1 TO 5).
Then combine your flour and polenta in a bowl (STEP 6), dip the fries in the mixture to coat, heat your oil in a wok till a bread cube browns in 45 seconds, add your polenta fries (and let them cook until fully golden brown … up to 8 or even 10 minutes. Take out and season (STEPS 7 TO 10).
Final Assembly and Presentation of Fat Polenta Fries, Tuna ‘Mantecato’
Place your fries in a style of ‘organised chaos’ on your tapas board & garnish with rosemary and grated parmesan (STEP 1), spoon the mantecato into a bowl (STEP 2) and place alongside the fries, and serve at once (FINAL IMAGE).
Above: Final Image