On my quest to find easy and healthy weeknight meals I came across this recipe. This was anything but easy! Let me rephrase that. It was technically easy, meaning that all of the steps were easy to accomplish, but it just took an effing long time! Between the chopping, all of the steps, and ingredients it took two hours to prepare. If I'm going to prepare something that takes two hours of my time (especially on a weeknight) the main ingredient better have had parents when it was alive. To boot, the dish was just so-so. I thought it was a little flat tasting and could use some more zing to it. It was reasonably good, but in my opinion it wasn't worth the effort. The recipe is from
here. Yum?
Ingredients (filling):
olive oil
1.5 pounds Japanese eggplant, largely diced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and mushrooms quartered
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
kosher salt
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
ground pepper
Polenta ingredients:
3 cups water, plus more as needed,
2 cups whole milk
2 tsp kosher salt
1.5 cups polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1.5 cups shredded fontina cheese
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 and arrange a rack in the middle. Place a large, well seasoned or enameled cast iron skillet in the oven while it's heating.
2) Once the oven is heated, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil in the hot skillet and let it heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add the eggplant to the skillet and arrange it in an even layer. Roast until tender and starting to brown, stirring halfway through, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and place on the stovetop. Using a spoon, transfer the eggplant to a bowl and set aside.
3) Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and place over high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring rarely, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the wine, stir to combine, and cook until the liquid has completely evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium low and using a spoon, transfer the mushrooms to the eggplant bowl.
4) Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and heat. Add the onion, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, about 1 minute.
5) Add the olives and reserved eggplant and mushrooms, along with any accumulated juices in the bowl and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes and water, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, being making the polenta. (Remove mixture from heat when done, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm until polenta is ready).
6) POLENTA: Place the measured water, milk, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and whisking constantly, slowly pour the polenta in a thin, steady stream until all of it is incorporated and there are no lumps.
7) Cook, whisking or stirring with a spoon every few minutes, until the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pan and the grains have softened, about 20 minutes. Add water if it gets too thick. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and set aside. Heat the oven to broil.
8) Pour the polenta over the eggplant and mushroom mixture and spread it into a smooth even layer. Evenly sprinkle the fontina onto the polenta. Place the skillet in the oven and broil until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and let sit for 5 minutes.
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