Polenta Lasagna-Fall's Comfort Food

Local corn is harvested and tomatillos are still on the vine. Crisp fall air prompts us to bring on blankets and hot dishes. Here's a perfect comfort food fit for an October supper.

My "lasagna" is baked in a 7-inch spring form pan with two layers each of polenta, cheese and vegetables and three layers of marinara. The brown sides and top of the triangular cut serving heightened the flavor and visual appeal of the dish. Reheating leftovers were easy and ever as tasty.

My polenta is made with grits cooked in skim milk. The vegetable layers has sauteed and drained tomatillos, peppers and onion. My marinara is home canned with no added salt and tomatoes. The cheese is a mix of what I had on hand. I browned and drained 1-2 ounce Italian sausage to crumble on the cheese layer for an added treat.

Here's how I made it:

Polenta Lasagna

(8 servings)

Polenta

Heat milk with crumbled bouillon cube over low heat. Stir in corn grits. Cook slowly, stirring often for 20-30 minutes until thick. 

2 cups corn grits

2 1/2 cups skim milk

1 bouillon cube no added salt chicken

 

Vegetable Layer

Combine vegetables in small saucepan on stove top. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain.

5 ounce tomatillos, parchment covering removed and diced

1/4 cup onions, diced

1/4 cup sweet pepper, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

 

Sausage

Crumble and brown sausage. Drain.

2 ounce Italian sausage 

Cheese

2 cups shredded cheese

Marinara Sauce

1 cup no added salt marinara 

To assemble:

Grease inside sides and bottom of 7 inch spring form pan with olive oil spray.

Place layers of ingredients in pan in this order:

1/3 marinara sauce

1/2 polenta

1/2 cheese

1/2 sausage

1/2 tomatillo-vegetables

1/3 sauce

1/2 polenta

1/2 cheese

1/2 sausage

1/2 tomatillo-vegetables

Bake uncovered in 375 F oven for 30 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before releasing sides of pan. Cut in 8 cake-like servings.