Polenta is one of my favorite comfort foods. Like mashed potatoes, it’s warm, rich, and smooth and complements many an entree. But even when made from scratch, polenta can be worlds easier to prepare than mashed potatoes. And it can be made mighty tasty without adding too much fat. An easy, satisfying dish consists of coins cut from a prepared tube of polenta, baked in the oven with pasta sauce and mozarella cheese on top.
Though my last foray (years ago) into preparing polenta from scratch had been woefully unsuccessful — the dang concoction never thickened — I thought I’d try the Chicken, Black Bean, and Corn Enchilada Casserole from the Weight Watchers Web site. I used canned enchilada sauce instead of the mix specified. I loved the casserole, especially the generous polenta underbelly, but I couldn’t help thinking, I’ve gotta try this with pasta sauce.
Here’s the ingredient list for trial numero uno. If you’re at all familiar with cooking with zucchini or mushrooms, you’ll know where this is going:
36 ounces bottled pasta sauce, Classico Tomato and Basil, specifically, which I now find too sweet
5 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 medium garlic cloves
1½ cup uncooked cornmeal
1 medium or 1 large zucchini (forgot to weigh the zuchini), sliced into coins then cut in strips
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1½ pound very lean ground beef
1½ cups Kraft Free Shredded Mozarella Cheese
I more or less followed the directions of the original recipe.
The result? Er . . . see for yourself:
aka Polenta Goop, this casserole was more soup than solid
Admittedly, this looked great straight from the oven, and I let it sit for about 7 minutes, but once I removed the first slice, a flood of tomato juice and vegetables took its place.
The casserole looked great straight from the oven
Overall, the goop was tasty, but could use a little more zest, perhaps from some fresh basil or oregano. And I should have perhaps covered the casserole with foil for the first 30 minutes or so of baking, to avoid that big mass of nearly impenetrable mass of mozzarella. (Yeah, real mozzarella may not have done that.) But the biggest challenge for next time is how to absorb all that liquid without adding too many calories. More cornmeal? Couscous? Tomato paste? Better drainage of the cooked vegetables? We’ll find out in a few weeks when I try again. . .