It may not be news to you, but it certainly was to me when I realized that one could use something other than noodles to make a pan of lasagna. After all, it's not greek to people in Greece because they've been doing it for centuries when making moussaka (eggplant and potato slices) so when I saw this in myrecipes.com I knew I just had to give it a try.
A marinara sauce chock full of veggies including onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms and zucchini fortified with Italian sausage and slathered between layers of polenta - why it's darn near sinful. I think it would be dynamite with some diced carrots, and/or sauteed spinach too and even a layer of roasted red peppers would be wonderful if you're trying to get more veggies into your family.
Of course I had to spice up the sauce a bit, added a little red wine and definitely used more cheese than they recommended, but I did cheat and use a tube of Trader Joe's prepared polenta and nobody would have been the wiser if I hadn't fessed up just now. Oh well!
This Polenta Lasagna is absolutely delicious, soul satisfying, heart warming and perfect for a fast weeknight dinner or a knifeless nosh while you're watching the hockey playoffs in front of the telly, or a taped version of the Voice like we were. Served with a tossed salad on the side, it certainly met with fist pumping approval in our house.
Hit the link here for the recipe direct from the source (Cooking Light), and here's my version for your viewing pleasure. By the way, you'll see that I made it in one large casserole, but it would be a great candidate for individual ramekins or even muffin cups, although it might be a little messy when you're removing them. Just sayin'.
Polenta Lasagna (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from myrecipes.com)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper pepper, finely diced
1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 medium zucchini, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1 – 26 ounce jar marinara sauce, divided (I used Trader Joe’s)
1 – 15 ounce tube of polenta, cut into 18 slices (I used Trader Joe’s)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large sauté pan and when oil is shimmering add onion and red pepper. Sauté until onion is softened – about 3 minutes, stirring often. Crumble in Italian sausage and cook until sausage is no longer pink. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and coarse ground black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, and then stir in red wine. Simmer until wine has almost completely evaporated – another minute or 2.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray and place a half cup of marinara sauce on the bottom.
Stir remaining marinara sauce into the sauté pan, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until sauce is quite thick.
Place 9 slices of polenta in the casserole dish on top of the half cup of marinara sauce. Cover with half of the meat sauce, and sprinkle with half the cheese. Add another layer of polenta slices, the remaining meat sauce and top with the rest of the grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover from casserole and continue to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until casserole is bubbling. Remove from heat and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 6 servings.
A year ago - Bolognese with Panko Crusted Eggplant and Zucchini
Two year's ago - Carne Asada in Fajitas