Creamy Vegan Polenta Bake
May 12, 2010
This vegan vegetable polenta bake from Tony Chiodo is like healthy lasagna.
Creamy Vegan Polenta Bake
This vegan vegetable polenta bake from Tony Chiodo is like healthy lasagna.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 356 kcal
Ingredients
sauce:
- 4 cups (600g) peeled and cubed orange-flesh sweet potato
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon (6g) Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups (300g) diced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup (70g) raw unsalted cashews, soaked and drained
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5g) minced fresh ginger, plus more to taste
base:
- 7 cups (1.68l) vegetable broth
- 2 cups (300g) diced yellow onion
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon (6g) Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 1/4 cup (16g) nutritional yeast, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon (4g) garlic powder, plus more to taste
- 4 cups (176g) baby spinach
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cups (300g) lightly steamed broccoli florets
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with a nonstick sheet or parchment paper.
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To make the sauce, toss the cubed sweet potato with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl. Spread the sweet potato on the sheet, and roast for about 1 hour, until tender. Set aside.
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Continue making the sauce by warming the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the 2 cups of yellow onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Set aside.
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Transfer the cooked onions to the blender, add the roasted sweet potato, and add the broth, cashews, ginger, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds until smooth and creamy. Tweak salt and ginger to taste. Set sauce aside.
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To make the base, pour the vegetable broth, onions, corn, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium. Whisk in the polenta, and cook, stirring every few minutes for about 40 minutes, until cooked through. (You may need to add more broth to prevent the polenta from sticking and burning.) Stir through the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of the salt. Stir in the spinach until just wilted, and then stir through the parsley until well combined.
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Grease a rectangular baking dish with olive oil, and spoon the polenta mixture into the dish until spread evenly. Press the steamed broccoli florets stem down into the polenta so they're arranged evenly.
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Pour the sauce over the polenta mixture, and bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the topping forms a slight crust.
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Cut into large pieces, and serve with a salad or steamed vegetables.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from a recipe by Tony Chiodo
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Comments 19
This is so tasty! I rarely use Polenta but it works so great in this recipe. Felt so healthy and fresh. Yum!
Great. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Hey Kim
I am wondering how palatable the avocado would be once it is baked? I would try some raw cashews or macadamias blended into the mix to cream it up. Hope this helps.
Can tubed polenta be used for this recipe?
Yes. The pre-cooked variety? Please let me know how you go. Just press it down into the dish and prick the vegetables into it, and then top with the sauce etc
What do you think of using almonds, walnuts or sunflower seeds in lieu of tofu or cashews? We have allergies to both soy and cashews.
You could use blanched almonds in place of the soy or cashews in this recipe. Substitutions depend on the recipe. Feel free to use the contact form to ask me about specific recipes.
Oh, I love love love that date and walnut cake. Enjoy the polenta.
Great! I am glad it worked for your party.
I totally agree. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thankyou for your lovely words. I am glad you are enjoying the site.
Can this be made ahead of time and re-heated?
Absolutely. I do that all the time. This will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. Enjoy Betsy.
Very adaptable – I made a smokey polenta and truffle pumpkin cream version. Added sweet smoked paprika, chilli flakes, coriander (instead of parsley) and frozen spinach (instead of baby spinach) to the polenta mash. Used roast pumpkin (instead of sweet potato), white truffle oil and cannelloni beans (instead of tofu) in the topping.
Delicious! Thanks for sharing your blend Hugo. Yes, the flavor varieties are endless with this recipe. I make a different version all the time to keep things interesting. I will try your recipe when I get home.
How many would you estimate this to feed? Family of seven. With healthy appetites 🙂 double?
I would say this serves 8 comfortably as a vegetable side dish. For a full meal with salad, it would, as well. But, you would want to serve something with it.
When the recipe says 2 cups of polenta, does it meal 2 cups of cornmeal?
Yes. I’m sorry for the confusion. I’ve just amended the recipe ingredients to make it clearer. Thanks for the feedback.