Ok. Let's talk cornmeal. Is it healthy? I guess, that depends on who is asking that question. :) It is not necessarily a grain that's easy to digest if you ask an ayurvedic practitioner. Is it a good alternative for gluten? Yes. Is it tasty? Very much so. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to indulge in very tasty food and enjoy every single bite of it, right? Polenta was an affordable Italian staple food back in the days. And i have to say, the Italians know how to transform this plain tasting grain into delicious meals. So as an Ayurvedic practitioner, I am going to make an exception because this recipe is just too tasty to leave unmentioned on my site. For my postpartum clients: I would recommend not making it. Also, anyone with weak digestive fire should also leave this vegan recipe for another moment. For the vegans among us that have something to celebrate: go ahead. ;)
6 - 8 servings
Ingredients:
Vegan parmesan
1/2 cup cashews
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Vegan ricotta
1 cup cashews (soaked overnight)
1/4 cup hot water
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Polenta base
2 cups of water
1 tbsp coconut oil, olive oil or for vegetarians (and for more flavor) use ghee
pinch of red pepper
sea salt
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup vegan parmesan
Polenta filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
2 cups of baby spinach
sea salt / black pepper
1 cup tomato sauce (or if you have more time boil 8 tomatoes and peel them)
chopped basil for serving
vegan parmesan for garnishing
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Vegan parmesan: in a food processor combine 1/2 cup sliced almonds, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder and lemon zest. Pulse until you have a fine meal.
- Vegan ricotta. First, drain the almonds. Then add to a food processor the almonds, hot water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic and salt. Mix until a smooth texture arises.
- Polenta crust: in a medium saucepan, combine the water, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Grab a whisk and slowly pour the cornmeal into the boiling water, whisking the whole time. Bring to a boil and after a few minutes lower to a simmer. Cook and stir often, until a thick paste appears (about 15 minutes). Add the almond parmesan and season.
Remove the polenta from the heat and scrape it into your dish. Work quickly with a spatula and spread the polenta equally on the bottom and sides of the dish.
- Polenta filling: heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent (5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and stir them until they’re soft. Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute. Add the spinach until just wilted (1 minute). Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper and stir.
To assemble the polenta pie, spread the vegan ricotta on the bottom of the polenta crust. Then, strain the mushroom and spinach mixture and transfer to the pie on top of the ricotta. Add the marinara sauce on top of that. The remaining almond ricotta on top. Drizzle a bit of the vegan parmesan on top of the lasagna.