Kale ‘n Tofu Baked Polenta

When I set up my posts for the A-Z, I assigned the letter P to Phyllo Salmon Pie.  Then when I was looking for something for K, I found this recipe for Kale ‘n Tofu Baked Polenta in my My Fitness Pal recipes.   “Oh, I could have done Polenta for P!” Oh well, never mind.  Although this recipe doesn’t tell you how to actually make Polenta, I use Jo Marcangelo’s recipe in Italian Vegetarian Cooking which I talk about in my Italian Style Thin Crust Pizza post.

For this recipe, you can use either your own homemade polenta, which – depending on the cornmeal you use – is way better than the premade store-bought kind.  I use organic cornmeal, and it really does make a difference.  If you do make your own, although Jo Marcangelo’s recipe calls for cooking it for about an hour to make a softer Polenta (YES!) you can get away with 30 minutes.

This recipe doesn’t use a lot of cheese as I try not to.  If you are a cheese lover you might want to increase the quantities.

Start by making your sauce.

First, heat – over a medium low temp – a little extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Add:

• a couple cloves of garlic, diced, minced, squashed- however you prefer
• 150 grams, medium firm tofu, finely sliced ‘n diced

Cook these together slowly, until the tofu takes on a texture almost like ground beef. The trick here, is to cook as much water as you can out of the tofu before adding any other ingredients. In this way, the tofu absorbs the flavor of the garlic (and any other herbs and spices you might want to add!)  I prefer the medium firm tofu for this, although it has more water than the firm, it breaks down more easily. Once your satisfied the tofu has lost it’s tofu-like appearance and texture :-), you can add the next ingredients:

• 1 large yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

  

• 100 grams crimini mushrooms, sliced

Cook these over ,low heat, until the mushrooms are done (about 7-10 minutes)

The add:

• 450 ml Tomato Basil sauce
• 70 grams chopped fresh kale

Cook until the kale shrinks.

Meanwhile, oil your chosen baking pan with a little olive oil. I use a 2 litre oven proof ceramic dish.  Line it with a generous 1/2 inch of polenta. If you make your own, you can pat it right into your cooking dish when it’s hot. If you buy the premade kind, slice it and lay your slices to fit the bottom of the pan as best you can.

Pour about 3/4 of the tomato sauce over this, reserving about a 1/4 small amount to drizzle over the top layer, and sprinkle with:

• 60 grams of lite feta cheese, cut into small cubes

Add another layer of Polenta, then pour the remaining sauce over top of that, and dot with:

• 30 grams Mozarella cheese, cut into bite size cubes

Cover, and bake in a hot oven (400F) for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles.  Remove from oven and let sit for 15-30 minutes to allow it to set and cool down a bit, then cut it into four and serve with a spatula.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 345
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16 g 25 %
Saturated Fat 6 g 31 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 31 mg 10 %
Sodium 1427 mg 59 %
Potassium 243 mg 7 %
Total Carbohydrate 40 g 13 %
Dietary Fiber 5 g 21 %
Sugars 8 g
Protein 19 g 38 %
Vitamin A 177 %
Vitamin C 135 %
Calcium 42 %
Iron 16 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.