Oh so bella! polenta lasagna

I love spinach lasagna. It’s one of my favorite dishes. I recently noticed another vegan blogger post a recipe for a polenta kale and portobella lasagna. I was intrigued, but decided to make it my own. I love a lasagna to be creamy, cheesy and ricotta-y. This brought up the question of making a tofu ricotta. A vegan recipe book I got from the library has a recipe for tofu feta made by marinating tofu. A shortly marinated “feta” mixed with a cheeze sauce, did the trick. Amazingly.

I also love mushrooms. A lot. I have tried numerous vegetarian mushroom lasagnas, including a severly intense wild mushroom lasagna, and always like to experiment with new ways to add that seriously earthy flavor they add to dishes.

So here was the set up for tonight’s “to-die-for” recipe. A love affair with lasagne and mushrooms. Add to that a new exciting journey with greens other than spinach, and polenta – intriguing and delicious yet, until today, eluding ingredient, and you’ve got Oh so bella polenta lasagna – a polenta lasagna, with a cheesy, creamy tofu ricotta sauce, collards, portobella mushroom, an oniony mushroom gravy all topped with homemade “cheesy” sourdough breadcrumbs. It is time-consuming but totally worth it.

Enjoy!

- Mags

Photo by D.

Photo by D.

1 portobella mushroom cap, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch collard greens, de-veined and sliced into strips

1 Tbs sunflower oil

2 large garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 C water

Saute collards in oil for about 3 minutes. Add portobella mushroom, salt and pepper and saute until collards begin to look wilty. Add garlic and stir. Add water and cover for 2 minutes then uncover and cook until all the water is gone.

Tofu Cheezy Ricotta

8 oz firm tofu

3 Tbs sunflower oil

3 Tbs water

1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp garlic (powder)

1/2 tsp salt

Crumble tofu into tupper-ware container. Place all marinade ingredients into a 1 C tupper-ware container and shake to combine. Pour over tofu and shake. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 min.

4 oz firm tofu

1/4 C unsweetened soymilk

1/2 C vegetable broth (1/2 C water + 1/4 tsp vegetarian broth powder)

2 Tbs tahini

1 tsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp onion powder

1-1/2 Tbs nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

2 tsp corn starch

Blend all ingredients in blender.

Add drained marinated tofu to collards, portobella mix in the pan and stir. Pour in cheeze sauce and mix. Bring to a boil then simmer over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Turn off and let sit while you make the mushroom onion gravy.

Mushroom Onion Gravy

1 Tbs sunflower oil

1/3 medium onion, chopped fine

2 C mushrooms, sliced very thin

1 C vegetable broth

1/4 tsp thyme

1 Tbs sherry vinegar

3 Tbs flour

Saute onions until translucent. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and saute until onion is golden and mushrooms are soft and fragrant. Place in blender with 1 C vegetable stock. Blend. The resulting mixture should be slightly lumpy. Place in pan. Add thyme and sherry and stir. Add flour and stir over low heat until mixture thickens.

Assemble the lasagna. Evenly coat a baking dish of your choice with cooking spray.(I ended up choosing 11″X7″ but if you prefer thicker polenta slices, choose a smaller surface area.) Cut one-18 oz pre-cooked tube of plain polenta in half. Slice into thin slices and use it to line the bottom of the pan. Cover the polenta with 1/2 of the mushroom-onion gravy. Next place all of the portobella,collard, “ricotta” mix over the gravy. Spread evenly. Slice up the remaining polenta and cover lasagna filling. Spread the remaining mushroom-onion gravy.

Home-made sourdough cheezy breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 325F. Cover pan with aluminum foil and coat with a light coat of cooking spray. Cut off three pieces of a loaf of sourdough bread (slightly stale works better) and cut into small cubes. Bake until light brown and crunchy. Cool.

When the lasagna is ready to place in oven, melt 3 Tbs Earth Balance in a pan and add bread crumbs (crush with your hands if you prefer smaller, less crouton-like crumbs). Saute until coated. Add 1 heaping Tbs nutritional yeast and stir. Spread evenly over lasagna.

Place lasagna covered with aluminum foil into a preheated 375F oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for another 15 minutes or until bubbly and the edges are golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Photo by D.

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