Polenta lasagna with escarole and cheese

8 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ cup Yellow cornmeal
3¾ cup Water
1 teaspoon Salt; or
Prepared polenta; (1.5 lb chub)
1 tablespoon Olive oil; light (1 to 2)
1 Onion; diced
4 teaspoons Minced garlic
½ cup Red and green bell peppers; chopped
¾ pounds Escarole; chopped
24 ounces No-salt-added chopped tomatoes; with juice
¼ cup Chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon Chopped fresh tarragon; or more
Freshly ground pepper
2½ ounce Hazelnuts; dry-roasted, chopped
6 ounces Fat-free mozzarella cheese; (6 to 8)
1 medium Egg
8 ounces Fat-free ricotta cheese; (8 to 10)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
Caesar salad

Directions

The idea: Slice prepared and chilled polenta into "lasagna noodles" and bake with a tomato sauce, escarole, and hazelnut filling and three cheeses.

Polenta ... prepare a narrow loaf pan (8 or 9 inches long) with cooking spray. Bring water, cornmeal and salt to boil in a heavy large saucepan, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; whisk until mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes. Transfer to loaf pan and smooth the top. Cover; chill until firm (at least 3 hours or overnight). TIP - whisking makes it creamy.

Filling ... Heat oil in large skillet. Saute over medium heat, the onion, garlic, and bell peppers; about 5 minutes; add more oil to keep this mixture moist. Season with salt and pepper. Add escarole and saute to wilt (2 to 3 minutes); to longer. Push the saute to the edge of the pan, making a well; add the tomatoes, nuts, herbs and pepper. Reduce the heat. Do NOT stir to combine; not yet.

15 Noodles ... Remove polenta loaf from the pan and slice into long strips resembling lasagna noodles. If using chub, cut first four slices to square up the chub, then cut the rest. Cheese ... Grate the mozzarella and set aside. Whip the egg with the ricotta until fluffy. Whip in the parmasan and the lemon juice. TIP -- baked, sliced fat-free mozzarella will be chewy. So we take the time to grate it. Freeze it first.

Set oven to 400F/200C degrees. Spray a 15 x 9 x 2 inch cake or ovenproof pan. Spread about ½ cup of the tomato mixture from the center of the skillet in the pan. Now stir the tomato and vegetable mixtures to combine.

Layer 5 noodles in the pan. Top with half the sauce. Dab with half the ricotta. Repeat; top with 5 noodles and the mozzarella. Sprinkle a little parmesan on top (optional). Bake 35 to 40 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven. Let stand before cutting.

Serve with a simple salad; recommend a low-fat Caesar.

Yields 8 servings at 275 cals, 9½ g fat, 33 mg chol, (31% cff) 635 sodium.

CooksNotes ... This is my version of the recipe on page 63. The Caesar was the right choice. Also; we served 2 portions, froze half, and cut the remainder into 3 lunch portions reheating in the Microwave. (patH <phannema@...> formatted for McRecipe List 1/23/97) Reissued 5/1/98.

Recipe by: Bon Appetit January 1997 / Two4lite.mcf 1996 Posted to EAT-LF Digest by Kitpath <phannema@...> on Jun 01, 1998

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