An authentic Italian recipe from our kitchen to yours. Buon
Appetito!
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of our Bolognese Meat Sauce or our Mushroom Ragu or your favorite hearty sauce recipe
- 1 recipe of our Besciamella Sauce
- 2 cups polenta or course cornmeal
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Directions
1.
In a
large
sauce
pan
over
high
heat,
add
the
water
and
a
pinch
of
salt.
Bring
the
water
to a
rolling
boil
and
then
whisk
in
the
polenta.
Lower
the
heat
to
medium
and
continue
stirring
the
polenta
frequently
so
that
it
does
not
stick
to
the
bottom
of
the
pan.
Cook
the
polenta
for
about
20 -
30
minutes
or
until
the
polenta
is
thick
and
creamy.
2.
When
the
polenta
has
finished
cooking,
spoon
all
of
it
into
a
loaf
pan.
Tap
the
loaf
pan
on
the
counter
to
compact
the
polenta
in
the
pan
and
remove
any
air
bubbles.
Set
the
polenta
aside
and
let
it
cool
to
room
temperature.
Once
cooled
to
room
temperature,
cover
the
pan
and
place
it
in
the
refrigerator
for
at
least
one
hour
or
as
long
as
overnight
in
order
to
make
the
polenta
firm.
3.
In
the
meantime,
prepare
the
recipes
for
the
Besciamella
Sauce
and
either
the
Bolognese
Meat
Sauce
or
the
Mushroom
Ragu.
4.
When
you
are
ready
to
assemble
the
lasagna,
preheat
the
oven
to
425
degrees.
5.
Line
an
oven
safe
baking
dish
with
parchment
paper
or
coat
it
with
nonstick
cooking
spray
or
butter.
6.
Remove
the
chilled
polenta
from
the
refrigerator
and
turn
it
out
from
the
loaf
pan
onto
a
cutting
board.
Cut
the
polenta
into
1/4
inch
thick
slices.
7.
Spoon
1/2
to
2/3
cup
of
the
meat
sauce
or
mushroom
ragu
into
the
bottom
of
your
baking
dish
and
spread
it
around
so
that
it
covers
the
bottom
of
the
dish.
8.
Then
place
a
layer
of
the
polenta
slices
into
the
dish.
Lay
the
slices
so
that
they
cover
as
much
of
the
bottom
of
the
dish
as
possible.
9.
Spread
around
2/3
cup
of
the
besciamella
sauce
over
the
layer
of
polenta.
Then
spread
another
2/3
cup
of
the
meat
sauce
or
mushroom
ragu
over
the
besciamella.
Top
the
sauce
layer
with
an
evenly
distributed
sprinkle
of
Parmigiano.
10.
Repeat
steps
8
and
9
until
all
of
the
polenta
slices
are
used.
Top
the
last
layer
of
polenta
slices
with
both
sauces
and
a
generous
sprinkle
of
Parmigiano.
11.
Cover
the
dish
with
foil
and
place
it
on
the
center
rack
in
the
oven
and
bake
for
25 -
30
minutes.
12.
After
25 -
30
minutes,
remove
the
foil
from
the
dish
and
bake
another
10
minutes
or
until
the
Parmigiano
is a
golden
brown.
13.
When
the
pasticciata
has
finished
baking,
remove
it
from
the
oven
and
let
it
cool
for
at
least
15
minutes
prior
to
serving.
14.
Serve
with
additional
Parmigiano.
