Polenta Lasagna with Vegetable Bolognese

The only time I remember having polenta, it was fried and covered in a mushroom sauce. It wasn't anything I was crazy about, yet I knew I would really like polenta served another way, so I bought a tube of it, having no idea what I was going to make.

I went back to my fave blog, A Year in the Kitchen, and found her lasagna made with polenta instead of noodles. I would never normally attempt lasagna, since Sage thinks his mom's is the best in the world, but I knew this would be different. I went ahead with the bolognese, and followed the recipe as closely as I could, only making minor changes when necessary, due to what I had on hand.

It's rather time consuming, and halfway through I was thinking I should've made a simple sauce and just tossed sliced veggies into the layers...but once we had it, I was so pleased I'd taken the time to make this delicious sauce. This was so good!!! I did cook up a turkey Italian sausage, which I put on half of the lasagna for Sage. All three of us loved this dish. Maybe next time I'll attempt making the polenta from sctratch!

Polenta Lasagna with Vegetable Bolognese

Ashlee Wetherington, A Year In the Kitchen

One tube Polenta, sliced into 1/2 in. thick rounds (to make from scratch*)

Ricotta Mixture:
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
1 egg
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I used a Italian blend that also included parmesan)
salt and pepper
chopped fresh oregano and parsley (I used 1/4 tsp. dried parsley)

Bolognese:
1 tbsp. olive oil

1 green bell pepper, chunked
1 yellow bell pepper, chunked (I used 1/2 red pepper)
1 small zucchini, chunked (omitted, didn't have)
4 oz. cremini mushrooms (I used 8oz. baby bellas)
1 carrot, peeled, chunked (I used 8 baby carrots)
2 celery stalks, chunked
1 large yellow onion, chunked
3 garlic cloves, smashed (I used 2 tbsp, minced)
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. tomato paste (I used 1/2 can- I love tomato paste!)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 15 oz. can tomato puree
2 tbsp. chopped fresh italian herbs (I subbed 1 tsp. Italian seasonings and 1 tsp. dried basil)
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
Crushed red pepper flakes (I used 1 tsp.)

Extra mozzarella for topping

1 Turkey Italian sausage (if desired,) casing removed, crumbled and browned

*If making polenta, prepare first.

To make bolognese:

1. Heat a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Add oil.

2. Add vegetables (in small batches) to the food processor. Pulse until they are in a fine mince. Add to the pan with oil. Continue with all vegetables, season heavily with salt and pepper. Stir and cook until all moisture is cooked out and vegetables begin to brown, about 20-25 minutes. (Since I used double the mushrooms, mine took about 30 minutes to cook out the extra moisture.)

3. Add tomato paste and wine. Reduce. Add tomatoes and spices, stir and heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To prepare lasagna:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Add all ricotta mixture ingredients to a small bowl, stir to combine.

3. Add 1/3 of the bolognese to a baking dish, top with half the polenta rounds. Spread the ricotta over the polenta, top with another 1/3 of the sauce. (This is where I added the cooked sausage to half of the dish.) Add the rest of the polenta rounds, top with sauce and mozzarella cheese shreds. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

4. Let sit 5-10 minutes to set, before serving.