Much Ado About Polenta

Polenta is often confused with American hominy grits, Mexican masa, and plain cornmeal. It is a pretty honest mistake, seeing as even reading the ingredients, they all just seem to be ground dried corn, with varying textures and coarseness. As a rule, polenta is usually yellow and coarser than cornmeal, which is why it would be a bad choice for cornbread (which needs finer texture to bake properly). It can be found in supermarkets uncooked or cooked. The later is usually packaged in a roll, which makes a great option for quick meals. Uncooked polenta looks much like grits, and the preparation (boiling in water or stock until it forms  porridge) is almost identical. The major difference is that "true" grits use something called hominy, which is made by soaking the dry corn kernels in a lye solution to remove the shell of the corn. This then often makes the corn appear white, which is why grits are often white as opposed to bright yellow polenta. The obvious answer is that polenta is a traditional Italian food, and grits was and still is a staple in southern U.S.

Polenta is great just with some butter, parmesan cheese, or marinara. It can also be topped with veggies like mushrooms or spinach. But polenta is great for those who avoid gluten, because it can replace typical pasta in common Italian favorites. One of the tastiest of those being lasagna.

Loaded Veggie Polenta Lasagna

Ingredients

1 large 24-32 oz jar or can of marinara

1 zucchini or summer squash

1 eggplant

8 oz of crimini or button mushrooms

2 packages of precooked, rolled polenta

3-4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 bags of mozzarella or parmesan cheese (can be made cheese-less, as well)

2-3 tbsp basil

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp red chile flakes

Preparation

Most lasagnas take a while to bake, but this one is pretty much just warmed through in the oven, and can be on the table in less than an hour with prep time included.

Thinly slice eggplant, mushrooms and  zucchini and sauté in garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and red chile flakes. It should take about 10 minutes on medium heat to get the vegetables soft.

Get a baking dish out with nice deep sides and coat with cooking spray. start by putting a thin layer of marinara sauce down. Start with putting a layer of polenta circles, then vegetables and more sauce and a layer of cheese. Divide the vegetables, polenta, cheese and sauce into three portions. It may not take all of the second roll of polenta to get this to work out. It is good to save some extra cheese for the top layer. Once the assembly is done, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then uncover the dish and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Let cool and serve. 

This will serve anywhere from 3-5 people, depending on portion size.