Polenta Lasagna

I usually make my own polenta from scratch, but occasionally I'll pick up a roll of the premade stuff. Typically I'll just fry it up in a little butter or olive oil, but this time I decided to get a bit more creative. This meal is the perfect compromise between homemade and convenience food, taking shortcut items like jarred marinara sauce and premade polenta and combining them with a pile of fresh vegetables and mushrooms for a lot of flavor in just a short time. That being said, because you're using shortcut items to build a lot of flavor, you better make sure they're good choices. Rao's is frequently regarded as the cream of the crop when it comes to jarred sauces, but it also comes at a pretty steep price. Newman's Own, which I happen to love, comes at a much more budget-friendly price, but use whatever you love (or honestly, just happen to have in the cupboard). I really pumped up the sauce by using not-quite frugal shiitake mushrooms, but this will also be delicious if you can only get your hands on creminis. This lasagna has all the flavor and comfort that a traditional lasagna does, but is a slightly sloppier affair because the polenta rounds don't form the seamless layers that lasagna noodles do. A pile of vegetables carefully disguised as comfort food, this decadent meal will happily feed kids, adults, gluten-intolerants, and vegetarians all from one generous dish without anyone feeling like they're missing out. Spring has finally made her subtle entrance, so seize the opportunity to make a last cold-weather indulgence before warm weather settles in for good.

Polenta Lasagna
adapted from Cooking Light
serves 4 to 6

1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided (or homemade marinara sauce)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
8 ounces shiitake (or cremini) mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
One 10-ounce box of spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 (16-ounce) tube of polenta, cut into 18 slices
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce into an 8-inch square baking dish to cover bottom, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper, mushrooms, and garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté 6 to 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add remaining marinara sauce and spinach; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange 9 polenta slices over marinara in baking dish, and top evenly with half of vegetable mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over vegetable mixture; arrange remaining polenta over cheese. Top polenta with the remaining vegetable mixture, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

4. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Smoky Greens and Beans over Polenta

When it's cold outside, I crave hearty meals like this one. A hot, buttery, cheesy bowl of polenta topped with hearty greens and creamy beans is the perfect comfort food for the dark days of winter-balanced and nutritious, but still rich and savory, and just plain soul-satisfying. I've been in a bit of rut lately with kale, pretty much just roasting it every chance I get (see here, here, here, and here) because, as is so often the case, I get a little obsessed with a particular ingredient or preparation. And while I'd never turn down some roasted kale, I like to broaden my horizons a little bit and try something different. I've made a soup similar to ribollita with kale and white beans in the past and really enjoyed it, and this dish keeps the delicious, classic combination of white beans and kale, uniting them with velvety polenta. It's not quite a stew, but whatever you'd like to call this dish, it's a pure bowl of cold weather comfort. Don't have any polenta? The kale and bean mixture would still be delicious over barley, rice, or even pasta. Not a fan of kale? Spinach would make a fine substitute, though the cooking time for the greens would be drastically reduced. Hopefully this recipe will provide a little inspiration for your winter menu, when it's all too easy to get stuck in a meat-and-potatoes rut.

Smoky Kale and Beans over Polenta
adapted from Bon Appetit, via Epicurious
serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 141/2-ounce can vegetable broth
8 ounces coarsely chopped kale
1 15-ounce can cannellini or navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup polenta (I like Bob's Red Mill)
3 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and paprika; stir 1 minute. Add broth and greens; bring to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until greens are wilted and tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in beans and simmer 1 minute to heat through. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Meanwhile, bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium pot over medium to medium-high heat. Slowly add polenta, stirring constantly, and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until polenta is thickened. Remove from heat, stir in butter and Parmesan cheese, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Divide polenta between four bowls and top each with one-fourth of the bean and kale mixture. Grate additional Parmesan cheese over the top, if desired, and serve hot.

Creamy Parmesan Polenta with White Beans and Roasted Kale

Did you get a chance to enjoy the wonders of Roasted Potatoes Colcannon with Eggs? If you did, here's another wonderful way to enjoy roasted kale, and if not, here's another way to further tempt you to give roasted kale a chance. This plate of Italian-inspired happiness came about on a night when I was feeling a bit lazy and uninspired and was hunting around for some nutritious components I could put together quickly for a balanced meal. Crispy, salty roasted kale is every bit as irresistible here with polenta as it is with eggs-the combination of salty, crispy kale and creamy, rich polenta is so delicious that you won't be able to decide if it is the kale or polenta you've started (or rekindled) a love affair with (and it's probably both). The creamy cannellini beans blend seamlessly into the rich and savory polenta with the kale providing the perfect crunchy textural contast. This dish can best be described as pure comfort and is sure to make many  more appearances on my dinner table in the coming chilly winter months.

Creamy Parmesan Polenta with White Beans and Roasted Kale
serves 2

1/2 pound kale-stems and ribs removed, leaves chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup polenta
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup prepared white beans, preferably cannellini, kept warm


1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, toss chopped kale with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread in an even layer on a prepared rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until kale is browned and crispy, tossing occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups water and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add polenta to saucepan, reduce heat to medium or medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until polenta is thickened. Remove pan from heat, stir in butter and Parmesan, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Divide polenta evenly between two plates, topping each mound of polenta with half of the beans. Place half the kale alongside on each plate and serve hot, scooping up some of the beans, polenta, and kale in each bite.

Honey Polenta Cornbread

I've been craving cornbread for a few weeks and with the advent of fall and football season, I decided to kick off a season of Packer games with some chili and cornbread. When I decided to make cornbread, I went to my current favorite baking book, Good to the Grain, and sure enough I already had the recipe for Honey Polenta Cornbread bookmarked. And just like everything else in this cookbook, this cornbread is amazing, the best I've ever had. The delectable crust and swirls of honey butter throughout the batter make this cornbread almost feel like dessert, but not so much so that it isn't perfectly at home dunked into a big bowl of chili. The whole grain flours make the taste much more complex and flavorful, as does the polenta, which also creates a wonderful texture.

Honey Polenta Cornbread
from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
serves 8

One day, faced with a large amount of cooked polenta, I though to stir some into a batch of cornbread for dinner. It was the best pan of cornbread I'd ever made, moist, with a nice grainy chew. So this recipe calls for par-cooked polenta, which means an extra step in your kitchen, but you'll find it's well worth the effort. I tested this recipe with purchased, precooked polenta, just to see if I could eliminate a step, but it wasn't successful. So just make your own, and eat any extra with some wilted greens and a bit of grated cheese.

This cornbread is delicious-wholesome with a fine crumb and swirl of honey butter throughout. When the cornbread is hot from the oven even more honey butter is brushed over the top as a glaze, which gives the crust its sheen and an extra sweet-bite.

Butter for the pan

1 cup coarse polenta grains, or cornmeal
1/4 t. kosher salt

Dry Mix:
1.5 c. graham flour 
1 c. millet flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 t. kosher salt

Wet Mix:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. whole milk
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. unsulphured (not blackstrap) molasses
3 eggs

Glaze:
 2 T. (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 c. honey
1/4 t. kosher salt

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2.5-quart baking dish.

2. Make the polenta: In a medium pot, bring 3 cups of water and the salt to a boil. Sprinkle in the polenta grains, stirring constantly to prevent clumping. Turn the heat to low. Continue cooking, stirring occassionally, until the polenta is thick and creamy, about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. To make the glaze, melt the butter, honey, and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk the glaze until smooth and set aside.

4. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any bits of flour or other ingredients that may remain in the sift, and set aside.

5. As soon as the polenta is done, measure 1 cup of it into a medium bowl, add the butter, and stir until the butter is melted and the polenta is smooth. Add the milk, honey, molasses, and eggs to the polenta bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.

6. Using a spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, folding the batter and mixing until just combined. Pour half of the batter into the pan and smooth, drizzle a third of the honey butter over the batter, scrap the rest of the batter over the glaze, spread the batter evenly and smooth the top. Drizzle more of hte honey butter of the top, reserving the last third to brush over the finished cornbread.

7. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, the edges have pulled slightly from the side of the pan, and a skewer inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

8. While the cornbread is hot, brush the last of the glaze over the top crust. The cake can be eaten warm or cool from the pan, or it can be cooled, wrapped tightly in plastic, and kept for up to 2 days.