Polenta Lasagna or Love-sagna

Recipe Hits: If you’re cooking for your own crowd, this makes total sense and as I made it, it’s delicious. I omitted the Spinach because I’m a texture eater and though Popeye would probably judge me, I am not so into the texture of cooked spinach. This recipe is gluten free so you can make it for folks you know are Gluten sensitive or intolerant. It does take a bunch of steps but you’re rewarded with a hearty meal which is just as good as leftovers. Instead of cooking the Polenta with strictly salt I opted for using chicken stock and was rewarded by broken off bits which were good on their own. You could cook seasoned with simply salt or vegetable stock and as a vegan option use vegan cheese and season puréed white beans in lieu of the ricotta mixture.

Recipe Misses: I broke my polenta sheet so I did not transfer it into the pan as a single layer. In order to fix this problem I made it into strips and laid them down as you would in traditional lasagna. Honestly I don’t have so many baking dishes so I was relieved my big baking sheet was the perfect size for baking this lasagna Polenta layer. From my perspective this dish takes, from start to finish, about 5-6 hours (if you count the time it takes to cool the Polenta) so make it on a day when you need some kind of project or are snowed . If you know you need something like this on a day when you won’t have time to cook, make it ahead, freeze it and then defrost for your guests who will be mystified by your miraculous cooking magic.

Lasagna means a bunch of things to me, but at the top of the list it means comfort and nourishment, not because of the calories but because of the effort it takes to make…and I just inherently feel like people who give me cheese are to be celebrated…

I invite you to answer these questions for yourself:

Comfort tastes like ______________

Comfort sounds like _______________

Comfort looks like_______________.

Who have I shared myself with lately?

and now, the main attraction: Polenta Lasagna!

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan (1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt)

2 cups polenta (not instant)

6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

5 ounces baby spinach (about 5 cups)- optional- I did not add

2 cups grated Parmesan

1 pound whole-milk ricotta (about 1 2/3 cups), preferably fresh

3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley ( or use more basil)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (or use more parsley)

1 large egg

½ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

1 (25-ounce) jar good-quality marinara sauce (3 cups)

Large pinch of red-pepper flakes, 1 pinch of dried oregano, 1 grated garlic clove or a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil, or a combination (optional)

1 pound shredded mozzarella (about 4 cups)

Plan of Attack

Roll up your sleeves- the work will be worth it!

Cover the baking sheet with tin foil and grease with butter or oil.

Prepare the polenta by adding cups of chicken stock over heat. Cook on medium and add the polenta bit by bit, whisking constantly. Keep whisking 8- 11 minutes and then whisk in butter. Remove the heat and mix in 1 cup of grated Parmesan.

It looks like more butter than it actually is, but don’t be shy! Remember it is being melted into an entire sheet of polenta. Keep whisking 8- 11 minutes and then whisk in butter.

Remove the heat and mix in 1 cup of grated Parmesan. Keep whisking so it does not clump up and integrates completely. You can’t wait for it to cool too much ; you need the cheese to seamlessly integrate into the polenta.

Pour the polenta into your baking sheet to cool. Season with salt, pepper, and powdered garlic.

Cover the polenta sheet with 0.5 cup of shredded parmesan. Bake in the oven for 13-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. The cooling part is the most important part of the whole dish because if you remove the polenta from the pan when it’s hot it will break. Depending on how hot your kitchen is it will take between 30-60 minutes to cool

Cut the polenta into strips. Place a layer of polenta on the bottom.

Mix the herby ricotta by combining the egg, powdered garlic, diced basil, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Spread an even layer on top of the polenta strips. Cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle generously with mozzarella.

Cover the mozzarella with another layer of polenta strips. Cover with another layer of ricotta, sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with some more Parmesan and place in the oven.

Bake until the cheese melts, which will be about 30 minutes! Serve it hot and reheat leftovers for maximum satisfaction.

Lasagna or Love-sagna is comfort food for many people…even being who are not people- remember Garfield? Thinking of him and the cartoons of my youth reminds me of the fundraisers of my childhood which were filled with pans of lasagna and lasagna, mountains of bread and the inevitable massive bowl of green salad.

As I have lived life I have met pockets of people with similar menu memories and I have found it comforting that baked ziti and 50 cent tickets for ice cream bars are things which followed me to remind me so many things change and yet so many are still the same. We all don’t have the same comfort foods or shared cultural experiences but we all know the feeling you fe when you just KNOW you feel like you belong. I have felt this feeling with people whose journey at times has been almost identical to mine and I have felt this feeling with people with whom I might not share a mother tongue, faith or even political beliefs, but in whose heart I know I will always live. The key factor of feeling you are welcome and belong almost always comes from knowing people are glad you came and they greet you with their own way to know you are loved and valued. They might say “I am so glad you’re here” and they might say “Glad you finally made it- we need help over here…”pointing to a pile of dishes in the sink. We are feeling beings and you just know when comfort comes, and for me, I haven’t ever argued with the feeling.

This lasagna is not the lasagna of my childhood but it is just as comforting. When possible I try gluten free recipes for my sister-friend who is juggling her sons and her career and doesn’t have rime to test out recipes she herself can actually eat. This recipe was something I had on my list for quite some rime and on a day when I was remembering what a good friend she has been to me, I decided to put on my best polenta making pants and make this. As we recover from the sadness of this year I think we are all looking for ways to be comforted and ways to comfort and I found in making this, I was comforted by the fact I cannot control the world but I can, in my small way, let somebody know they are thought of when they’re being thought of. Today I don’t have solutions for many things, but I have the ability to do tiny things with great love…so this what I am focusing on. I joked with my friend I would be leaving leftovers in her mailbox but we would be judged by the post man! Today I am thinking “Postman be damned; the next time I make this I am leaving the entire tray Tara Fitz’s her mailbox!”

I have a special memory making lasagna with the Mama of somebody who is special to me, during a time I had grown accustomed to not being comforted . It was almost palpable, the feeling of relief which flooded my body when she included me and this reminder of being valued as a special daughter wearing a grandma apron has always stayed with me. When she shared her secret lasagna ingredient with me I was reminded of other people who made me fe the same way, just by sharing parts of themselves. Secretly I added her ingredient to this dish and I hope whomever you cook this for, they feel the love which went into making it.