Vegetable Polenta Stacks

Yay, I finally uploaded my photos from dinner!!!

I made Vegetable Polenta Stacks for dinner last night (recipe below). The recipe was just okay, but maybe it's because I didn't know what to expect-- I've never tried polenta before. I can see the potential for liking polenta quite a lot, but perhaps just not in stack form. I think the "slabs" of polenta kind of weirded me out, especially knowing that it's usually eaten in mush form.


And here's how I made the Vegetable Polenta Stacks...

I boiled and added fresh basil to Bob's Red Mill Medium Grind Cornmeal for the poleta.

After cooking on the stovetop for 10 minutes, I coated a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread out the cornmeal with a spatula, making it nice and flat, then refrigerated it for 45 minutes.

Once the polenta was chilled, I cut it into 12 squares, which I then layered with zucchini, tomato slices, cheddar cheese, basil, and topped with marinara sauce. 

For my lunch tomorrow, I mashed up the leftover polenta with veggies, cheddar cheese, and marinara sauce, so hopefully, I will like it better mushy. 

My evening snack was 2 PB-Pumpkin muffins and a few peanut butter and chocolate chips. Eating them together in the same bite was delightful! :)

Vegetable Polenta Stacks
Shape, August, 2008 by Wendy Hess

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 70 minutes

3 cups water
1 1/2 cups finely ground cornmeal
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Cooking spray
1 large zucchini, sliced diagonally
1 large tomato, very thinly sliced
3/4 cup shreddeda part-skim mozzarell
1 cup jarred marinara sauce Fresh basil or rosemary for garnish
(optional)
* Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add cornmeal.
Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Mix in basil and rosemary.
* Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread out cornmeal to
1/4-inch thickness with spatula. Refrigerate 45 minutes, then cut
into 12 squares.
* Place one square of polenta on a small plate. Top with a few slices
of zucchini, tomato, and 1 tbsp. mozzarella. Repeat layering once,
then top with third polenta square and 1 tbsp. cheese. Repeat process
for 3 more servings, using up all of the vegetables.
* Heat marinara sauce on low in a small saucepan. Place polenta
stacks, one at a time, in microwave for about 2 minutes, or until
cheese has melted. To serve, spoon 1/4 cup marinara over and around
each heated polenta stack. Garnish with herbs if desired.
Nutrition score per serving (1 stack plus 1/4 cup sauce): 301
calories, 7 g fat (21% of calories), 3 g saturated fat, 50 g
carbs, 10 g protein, 3 g fiber, 167 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 456 mg sodium
* TIP: This dish takes just 15 minutes to prepare if you make the polenta a day ahead of time.