450 g Polenta
9 c Water or light vegetable
-stock
1 ts Salt
100 g Fresh baby spinach; well
-washed and
; finely sliced
100 g Fresh pesto; (either bought
-or
; home made)
2 Red capsicums
2 Yellow capsicums
1 lg Eggplant
1 tb Olive oil
1 1/2 c Tomato based sauce
130 g Gruyere cheese; grated
250 g Tasty cheese; grated
Line a 25cm. springform tin with plastic wrap and set aside.
In a saucepan, bring the water and salt to a rapid boil. Remove the pan
from the heat then add the polenta in a thin stream (I like to pour the
polenta into a sieve and sprinkle it in to avoid any lumps). Return the pan
to the boil and simmer while stirring for 10 minutes until the polenta is
thick. Remove the pan from the heat and add the pesto and spinach and stir
through to incorporate. Pour into the lined cake tin, smooth the top and
allow to cool until firm or overnight.
Meanwhile, cut the capsicums into quarters and discard the seeds. Grill the
capsicum pieces, skin side up until blistered and beginning to blacken
(about 4 minutes). Remove the capsicums from the griller and place them
into a plastic bag until cold. When they are cold enough to handle, peel
off the skins and discard. Reserve the grilled capsicums for assembling the
polenta cake.
Slice the eggplant into 5mm. rounds and sprinkle with salt. After 30
minutes, wash briefly and dry well. Brush the eggplant pieces with olive
oil and grill until golden on each side. Set aside.
Mix the grated cheese together and set aside.
When you are ready to assemble the polenta cake, remove the firm polenta
from the cake tin. With a sharp knife, slice horizontally into 3 equal
layers (like layers of a sponge cake).
Line the 25cm. cake tin with foil or ‘glad bake’ and place the bottom layer
of polenta on the bottom of the tin. Place half of the roasted capsicum
pieces and eggplant slices over the polenta. Top with half of the tomato
sauce. Sprinkle over one third of the cheese mixture.
Repeat the above layers of polenta, capsicum, eggplant, tomato sauce and
cheese. Place the last layer of polenta over, and sprinkle the remaining
cheese over the top.
Bake at 180c. for an hour, then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Leave to set overnight.
To serve, reheat in the oven or microwave and drizzle with a simple tomato
sauce, pesto cream sauce or roasted capsicum sauce (recipes in condiments
section).
Add some fresh crusty bread and a green salad for a perfect meal.
Yields
1 servings