Polenta Casserole with Simple Tomato Sauce

Gnocchi Alla Romano sounded really good today, but I don't have any semolina. Also, I love red sauce. This is just such a good, filling casserole, I can't even begin to describe it. Try it for yourself, adjusting the ingredients to make you happy.

Ingredients:

For the cheese mix:

1 to 1 ½ cups grated parmesan (I’m a cheeseaholic, I used 1 ½)
1 cup grated aged Gouda or aged gruyere

For the polenta rounds:
5 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt (or more to taste)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
3 Tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups cornmeal

For the sauce:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
¼ cup onions, finely chopped
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon sugar (optional)

For the topping:

2 Tablespoons butter, melted
The remaining cheese mix

Directions:

First, mix the cheese mix ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Next, make the polenta for the rounds by putting the milk, salt, nutmeg and butter together in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Turn the heat down to low and whisk for about 4 minutes or until the polenta is good and thick. Turn off the heat and add in 1 ½ cups of the cheese mix. Let cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is almost room temperature. Take a long piece of plastic wrap (say 30 inches) and lay it on your work surface. Spray it with cooking spray and place dollops of polenta along the edge of the plastic wrap closest to you, lengthwise, leaving about 3 inches clear on each short end. Use your very clean and damp hands to shape the polenta into a roll about 2 inches thick. Roll the plastic wrap around the polenta roll and twist the ends together so you have a chubby polenta roll about 2 inches thick. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

While the polenta is chilling, make the tomato sauce by putting the oil in a large saucepan (I just used the same one I used for the polenta after I rinsed it out well). Heat the oil to medium and throw in the onion and chopped garlic. Stir until the onions and garlic are slightly soft, but not browned. Add in the tomatoes and salt/pepper and sugar. Cook over medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Assembly time! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and place it on a baking sheet so you don’t have any spill over problems. Put as much tomato sauce in the bottom of the casserole as you wish. Take the polenta out of the fridge and cut it into ½ inch rounds using a sharp knife that has been run through hot water. Nestle the polenta rounds on top of the tomato sauce, overlapping slightly. Brush the rounds with the melted butter and put on as much of the remaining cheese mixture as you wish. Bake for 55-65 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the polenta rounds are golden brown.

Here’s the beauty of this: You have plenty of cheese mixture, plenty of polenta and plenty of sauce. You can use one small casserole, like I did (1.3 quarts) and save the rest of the cheese, polenta and sauce for another meal. Even my smaller casserole will serve 3 as a vegetarian main dish. Make a salad and you are good to go!

If you have leftover cheese, try this: Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the cheese mix in little bundles (like you are making cookies) on the foil and bake at 300 for about 5-6 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool. It is a wonderful snack.

You can leave any extra polenta in the roll and just fry it up in olive oil for a quick meal, served with any leftover sauce.

Have fun and play with this food!