Portobello Basil Open Face Lasagna With Polenta Vegetarian Recipe 55

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°, use disposable aluminum 1/2 tray or 9x13 casserole 1. Trim gills from portobello slices. Sauté portobellos in a small amount of olive oil. When cooked, remove from pan and set aside. 2. Add tomato sauce to pan. If not using jarred sauce, sprinkle-in seasonings to taste. Cook until hot and seasonings meld. Then, remove from heat. 3. Slice polenta into 12 slices. 4. Layer ingredients in pan as follows: a - Small amount of sauce to coat pan. b - Polenta: 4 across, 3 down. c - Top each polenta circle with small amount of sauce. d - Top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. e - Layer basil leaves over top, 1-2 leaves per piece of polenta. f - Top with portobello slices, 1-2 slices per piece of polenta. g - Cover with rest of sauce. h - Top with rest of cheese. 5. Bake in oven at 350° until heated through, cheese is melted and all is bubbling. NOTE: Any links included here have been added by Key Ingredient and are not references of my own.

Steps:

• For the red sauce: Place a rack in the center of the oven. Heat some EVOO in a medium Dutch oven or saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onions to the pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the bay and thyme and cook to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Next, stir in the wine and tomato paste. Add the tomatoes and crush with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Bring the sauce to a bubble and reduce the heat to a simmer and thicken, 15 minutes.
• Preheat the broiler.
• For the bechamel and ricotta: Melt the butter in a saucepot over medium heat and whisk in the flour for 1 minute. Then whisk in the milk and bring to a bubble. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Thicken the sauce and keep warm over low heat.
• Drain the spinach well and separate into small pieces. Mix together the fresh ricotta and spinach in a small bowl.
• For the polenta: Bring the milk and chicken stock to a low boil. Add the polenta and season with the fennel, if using, salt and pepper. Whisk the polenta to mass, 3 minutes. Finish the polenta by stirring in 1/2 of the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the butter.
• Butter a casserole dish. Add half of the red sauce, and top with half of the polenta. Pour the bechamel sauce over the polenta and dot with the ricotta cheese and spinach. Top the bechamel layer with the remainder of the polenta. Top the polenta with more red sauce and the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano and provolone. Reserve remaining red sauce, if any, to serve on the side. Broil to set and brown, 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees and butter an 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet pan. Grease a rubber spatula with butter.
• Prepare the polenta: In a large pot, bring 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, then slowly pour in polenta, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking often, until polenta thickens, 8 to 12 minutes. Whisk in 4 tablespoons butter until melted. Whisk in spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in 1 cup grated Parmesan.
• Scrape polenta onto the prepared baking sheet. Using the greased rubber spatula, spread the mixture into a thin, even layer to cover the entire pan, all the way to corners. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated Parmesan on top. Bake until polenta is firm and cheese has melted, 12 to 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cooled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or place in refrigerator until cool to touch, about 40 to 50 minutes. (Polenta can be baked the day before and refrigerated until needed.)
• When ready to bake the lasagna, heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Prepare the ricotta filling: In a small bowl, mix ricotta, parsley, basil, egg, black pepper, nutmeg and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until well combined and set aside.
• Taste the marinara sauce. If it needs some zip, stir in any or all of the optional ingredients.
• Assemble the lasagna: Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut cooled polenta in half widthwise, creating 2 pieces roughly 9 by 13 inches each. Using a large spatula, gently place one half in prepared baking dish. (It is important for polenta to be completely cooled and firm; otherwise, the pieces may break when transferring to baking dish. If anything breaks, just reassemble it in the pan. It won't make much of a difference once it's covered in sauce and baked.)
• Spread about half the ricotta mixture in an even layer on top of polenta. Pour about half of marinara sauce on top of ricotta, sprinkle with about half of the shredded mozzarella. Repeat with remaining polenta, ricotta, marinara and mozzarella. Once assembled, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on top.
• Place baking dish on top of a rimmed sheet pan in case the lasagna bubbles over. Bake until cheese melts, about 30 minutes. If you like, you can broil lasagna for 2 minutes after baking until cheese starts to bubble and develop brown spots.
• Remove from oven and let lasagna stand for about 15 minutes to firm up before serving. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Steps:

• Remove stems and clean the mushrooms; set aside.
• Mix vinegar, Worcestershire, oil, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.
• Place mushrooms inside a large zip-top bag. Pour in the marinade and turn the bag so the mushrooms get evenly coated. Let sit in a refrigerator for a minimum of 5 minutes, or up to 12 hours.
• Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Grill mushrooms in the hot pan until heated through and browned, about 4 minutes per side.

Steps:

• For filling:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss mushrooms with 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl to coat. Arrange mushrooms, gill side up, in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Cut mushrooms into 1/3-inch-thick slices.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. Add shallots, rosemary, and thyme. Cook until shallots are tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. (Mushrooms and prosciutto-shallot mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill).
• For sauce:
• Bring milk, broth, and bay leaf to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes; discard bay leaf.
• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour; stir 2 minutes. Whisk in hot milk mixture; bring to boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in Gruyère, Parmesan, and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• For lasagna:
• Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender but slightly undercooked (noodles will finish cooking in oven). Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again; pat dry.
• Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of prepared dish. Arrange 1/3 of noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread about 1 2/3 cups sauce over noodles. Arrange 1/2 of mushrooms over sauce. Scatter 1/2 of prosciutto mixture over mushrooms. Arrange 1/2 of remaining noodles over mushrooms, overlapping to fit. Spread 1 2/3 cups sauce over noodles. Arrange remaining mushrooms over sauce, sprinkle with remaining prosciutto, and top with remaining noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over, and dot with butter. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, about 45 minutes (about 1 hour if refrigerated). Let stand 20 to 30 minutes before serving.