Vegetable Polenta Lasagna

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I made this for New Years Day dinner and it was a huge success. Polenta is a traditional Mexican ingredient that is made from corn meal. I love layering it with lots of vegetables for a filling, satisfying dinner. You can also add chicken or cheese to this dish.

 

WHAT YOU NEED

1 roll of pre-made polenta

4 cups of chopped mushrooms

1 onion chopped

1 leek chopped

1 red bell pepper

5 cups of chopped spinach

2 small zucchinis (or 1 large) cut lengthwise into thin ribbons. I have a spiralizer that ribbons my zucchini but if you don’t have one, just cut the zucchini lengthwise as thin as you can with a sharp knife.

3 cloves of garlic

1 large jar of marinara sauce (650ml)

½ cup of pesto (or more to taste)

olive oil

1 tsp of red chili flakes

salt and pepper

large rectangular baking dish (approximately 9 x 12 inches)

 

WHAT TO DO.

  1. Saute the onions, leeks, mushrooms, red pepper and garlic until soft (10 mins or so).
  2. When the mushrooms have released their juices, add the chopped spinach, red chili flakes and salt and pepper. (Never season mushrooms until they have released their juices as salt can make them tough and rubbery.) When the spinach has just wilted, take the pan off the heat. Do not over cook the veggies!
  3. Slice the polenta into thin rounds (1/2 inch wide.
  4. Time to build our lasagna! Pour half the jar of marinara sauce over the bottom of the lasagna dish and spread evenly. Now start laying out your first layer of polenta just like you would lasagna noodles. My lasagna dish is so big it allowed for 3 across wide and 4 rows lengthwise.
  5. Add half the veggies mixture on top of the polenta and spread evenly
  6. Spread the pesto over all the veggies as evenly as possible (it doesn’t have to be perfect).
  7. Now place the zucchini ribbons down like lasagna noodles. You should use all the zucchini on this layer.
  8. Spread some more pasta sauce over the zucchini.
  9. Time for another (and final) layer of polenta.
  10. Cover polenta layer with the remaining veggies and pour the rest of the marinara sauce over everything.
  11.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 mins at 400 degrees, then remove the foil and bake for 15 mins more. Let rest for 10 mins before serving.

Mmmmm, like any lasagna this takes a bit of prep work and time to build but the results are well worth the effort.

Enjoy

xoxo

Rebecca