Eggplant Polenta Stacks With Tomato Sauce Recipes

LAYERED EGGPLANT AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF degrees with rack in upper third.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat; add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in vinegar, oregano, basil & Italian seasoning; season with pepper.
• Remove sauce from heat.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat; lightly brush eggplant slices with the remaining tablespoon oil.
• Working in batches, lay slices in skillet in a single layer; cook until browned and they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Transfer to a plate.
• Spoon about a cup tomato sauce into a 9-inch square baking dish, spreading to coat evenly; arrange eggplant slices snugly in a single layer.
• Spoon about 1 cup tomato sauce over eggplant, and arrange polenta rounds in slightly overlapping slices on top.
• Repeat with sauce and another layer of eggplant.
• Finish by dotting with remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover with foil; bake until bubbling and juicy, about 30 minutes.
• Remove foil; continue baking until sauce is lightly caramelized and eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes more.
• Remove from oven; let cool slightly, and serve.

POLENTA STACKS WITH EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• For polenta:
• Bring 2 cups water and salt to boil in heavy small saucepan. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until polenta is very thick, whisking constantly, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese and butter; whisk until melted. Mix in basil. Season generously with pepper. Spread in 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Chill until cold, about 1 hour.(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, keep chilled.)
• For stacks:
• Preheat broiler. Place eggplant on baking sheet. Brush with oil on both sides; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Arrange 12 tomato slices on large plate (discard end slices). Drizzle each slice with a few drops of vinegar. Sprinkle eggplant and tomatoes with oregano.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil baking sheet. Cut polenta into 25 squares. Place 12 squares on sheet. Top each with eggplant round. Cut cheese into 1/3-inch thick slices; place atop squares. Top each with tomato slice (save remaining polenta and cheese for another use).
• Bake polenta stacks until heated through and cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Top each stack with 1 basil leaf.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN STACKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Season eggplant with salt. Heat 1 cup oil (about 1/4 inch) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, so as to not crowd the skillet, fry eggplant rounds, turning once, until soft and pale golden, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
• Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook 20 seconds (do not let brown). Add tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes break down and are soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in oregano and basil. (Alternatively, stir oregano and basil into 1 1/4 cups Freezable Tomato Sauce Base.)
• Place 6 slices of eggplant on a rimmed baking sheet. Top each slice with 1 tablespoon sauce and a few pieces of mozzarella, and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons Parmesan. Repeat layering twice.
• Bake until heated through and cheese is bubbling, about 12 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with oregano and Parmesan shavings.

MILLET POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE, EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant. Cut it into 3/4-inch cubes and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with olive oil. Lay the eggplant on the foil in a single layer. Roast in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cubes are soft when pierced with a knife and browned in spots. They'll look dry on the surface but when you pierce them with a knife you should be able to see that the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and carefully fold the foil up over the eggplant slices (be careful not to burn yourself!). Crimp the edges of the foil so that the eggplant is hermetically sealed in a big foil packet, and allow the eggplant to steam for another 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Begin the polenta. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the millet. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan, until the grains begin to pop and smell sort of like popcorn. Add the water or stock and salt (up to 1 teaspoon, to taste). Transfer the pan to the hot oven. After 25 minutes give the millet a stir and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. There should still be some liquid in the pan. Stir in the butter and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the millet is thick and no more water or stock is visible in the pan.
• While the millet is in the oven make the tomato sauce. Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor so that you have a nice puréed texture. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a wide nonstick skillet or saucepan and add the garlic and thyme. As soon as it begins to smell fragrant (1/2 to 1 minute), add the tomatoes, sugar, eggplant, and salt, stir and turn up the heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered and stirring often, until thick and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and heat through. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasonings.
• When the polenta is done, remove it from the oven and if desired, stir in the Parmesan. Spoon onto plates or wide bowls, make a depression in the middle with the back of your spoon and top with the tomato, eggplant and chickpeas mixture. Garnish with more fresh thyme and Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil if desired, and serve.

LAYERED EGGPLANT AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees; with rack in upper third. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar, oregano, and basil; season with pepper. Remove sauce from heat.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Lightly brush eggplant slices with the remaining tablespoon oil. Working in batches, lay slices in skillet in a single layer; cook until browned and they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup tomato sauce into a 9-inch square baking dish, spreading to coat evenly. Arrange eggplant slices snugly in a single layer. Spoon about 1 cup tomato sauce over eggplant, and arrange polenta rounds in slightly overlapping slices on top. Repeat with sauce and another layer of eggplant. Finish by dotting with remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover with foil; bake until bubbling and juicy, about 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking until sauce is lightly caramelized and eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes more. Remove from oven; let cool slightly, and serve.

POLENTA WITH HOT TOMATO-EGGPLANT SAUCE

Steps:

• If using a broiler, turn on.
• Wash, trim and slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Brush with four teaspoons of the oil.
• If using a top-of-the-stove grill, prepare. Broil or grill the eggplant until it begins to brown on both sides. Set aside.
• Mince garlic, and saute in the remaining two teaspoons of hot oil in a saucepan with hot-pepper flakes for 30 seconds.
• Crush tomatoes with your fingers and add them in the pan with vinegar. Reduce heat and simmer until the rest of the meal is complete.
• Bring 1 1/4 cups of water to a boil in a covered pot.
• Cut the skin from eggplant and cut into 1/2-inch chunks. Add to tomatoes.
• Add polenta, one tablespoon at a time, to the boiling water, stirring well, and cook over medium-high heat until polenta thickens.
• Season the polenta with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, coarsely grate the cheese.
• Spoon polenta onto two dinner plates; top with tomato-eggplant sauce, and sprinkle with cheese. Serve with bread.

TOMATO AND GRILLED POLENTA STACKS WITH BASIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make polenta:
• Whisk together water, cornmeal, and salt in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spread polenta into a 10- by 5-inch rectangle on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Prepare grill for cooking.
• Drain tomatoes while polenta is chilling:
• Cut 4 (1/4-inch-thick) crosswise slices from middle of each tomato. Sandwich slices between triple thicknesses of paper towel and press gently to absorb excess moisture.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Grill polenta:
• Cut out 8 (2 1/2-inch) rounds from polenta with cookie cutter. When fire is medium-hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds), grill polenta rounds in a grill basket until crusty, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet.
• Assemble and bake stacks:
• Season tomato slices with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cheese. Assemble 4 stacks by placing a tomato slice on top of each of 4 polenta rounds (use a spatula to transfer tomato slices), then top each with another polenta round and tomato slice.
• Bake in middle of oven until hot and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
• Make sauce while stacks bake:
• Purée basil, water, garlic, lemon juice, oil, and sugar in a blender, scraping down sides frequently, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve stacks with basil sauce.

EGGPLANT-POLENTA STACKS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Puree tomatoes in blender. Strain into heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer tomatoes until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Combine 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Parmesan and butter and stir until melted. Mix in cayenne pepper. Spread polenta in 9-inch-square pan. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Sauce and polenta can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Pat dry.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Brush eggplant and zucchini with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil until tender, about 2 minutes per side.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil large baking sheet. Using eggplant as template, cut polenta into 4 rounds. Place rounds on prepared baking sheet. Top each with eggplant, 2 zucchini slices, basil leaf and mozzarella slice.
• Bake eggplant stacks until cheese melts and begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to plates. Rewarm sauce. Spoon around eggplant stacks. Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve.