Recipes
Italian Polenta Pie
http://www.theironyou.com/2013/06/italian-polenta-pie.html
Ingredients
Serves 8
Polenta
1 ½ cups polenta
6 cups water
1 + 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
Eggplant mixture
2 large eggplants (about 2 ½ lb / 1.2 kg), cubed (not sure how to cube an eggplant? Look here)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 29 oz / 822 gr can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
½ cup water
( I added fried onion and tachun)
Toppings
Mozzarella cheese (or vegan cheese)
Fresh basil
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions
Fill a large bowl with cold water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir until salt dissolves completely.
Place eggplant. Let eggplant sit at least for 20 minutes to draw out the bitterness. Drain eggplant cubes and pat them dry.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan (I used a non-stick wok) over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute? for 1 minute, add eggplant cubes and saute? for 10 minutes stirring every so often, making sure that the eggplant doesn?t stick to the pan.
Add tomato sauce, water, basil, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of salt, turn the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
In the meantime make the polenta. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large non-stick pan, add 2 teaspoons of salt and, using a whisk, add the polenta making sure no lumps form. Continue cooking stirring once in a while to prevent it from sticking all over the bottom (also be careful that the polenta tend to splatter so use a lid). Polenta will thicken as it cooks.
Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes for a soft polenta, adding a little more water if necessary.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Arrange the eggplant mixture in the bottom of a baking dish and spread polenta evenly over the top. Cover with mozzarella cheese (or vegan cheese) and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, turn on the broiler and bake for another minute until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh basil and a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes if you want to add a kick.
Nutrition facts
One serving scores 298 calories, 5.5 grams of fat, 51 grams of carbs and 8.1 grams of protein.