It's Delish! Tomato Polenta Lasagna

It is a little early in the tomato season for this recipe, but I just made it the other day and I couldn't resist sharing. If you have a bunch of tomatoes and 3 hours of time, then this is the best recipe ever! Yes, you read that right. It takes 3 hours to cook the fresh tomatoes down, but it is worth every second because at the end you will have the most beautiful, savory, flavorful tomato sauce you have ever tasted! Let's begin:

Begin by cutting about 3 pounds of tomatoes in half and then getting rid of the stem area. This area of the tomato can be kind of tough and woody, and one time I didn't bother to cut it out and there were gross chunks in my otherwise delish sauce.

Put all the cut tomatoes into a dutch oven or other heavy pot and set on a medium flame.

To the tomatoes add 2-4 anise pods and one vanilla bean. Yes, you read that right- a vanilla bean! Because they are so expensive, I usually use half a bean.

Continue to cook over a medium heat.

As the tomatoes begin to break down, use a potato smasher to gently smoosh (very technical term) the tomatoes to speed up the process.

This is what it should look like after about 15 minutes. At this point turn the flame down to medium-low and continue to cook.

I would stir the pot every 20 minutes or so. Also, taste the tomatoes as they cook so you can see how the flavors change over time. This should cook for at least two hours on a low flame.

This is what it should look like after a few hours. There should be almost no liquid left, just the slowly cooked pulp.

At this point you can throw in a few garlic gloves. I chop the large ones in half, but don't chop them too small because you should take them out after about 5-10 minutes along with the vanilla pod and anise pods.

Once you have removed the garlic, vanilla, and anise, you can add a handful of torn fresh basil and some chopped fresh oregano or marjoram. Taste and season with salt.

At this point your sauce is finished and you can do whatever you like with it. You can spread it over bruschetta toast, or spoon it over pasta. But I like to layer it with soft polenta and fresh mozzarella to make the lasagna. Here is how that is done:

About an hour before the sauce is done, I bring 1 cup of polenta and 4 cups of water with a pinch of salt to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer.

Cook the polenta over a low flame and occasionally stir. If it feels like it is getting too goopy (another technical term), just add some more water. I had to add at least 1 more cup of water as I cooked the polenta for an hour.

Now I know an hour sounds like a long time for polenta, especially when the box says it can be cooked in 5-10 minutes. And you can do the quick version if you want. But because you already have to wait an hour for the tomato sauce to cook, you might as well cook your polenta this way. It gives the polenta an extra creamy-smoothness you wont get the quick way.

At the end of the hour throw in a good handful (or two) of freshly grated parmesan cheese and turn off the flame.

For this recipe I like to add some wild arugula to the polenta to help cut the sweetness of the sauce. I just add it directly to the pot after the heat has been turned off and stir until the arugula has wilted down.

Now you can begin to make your lasagna. I start with 1/3 of the polenta and smooth it on the bottom of a pie pan.

Then add 1/2 of the tomato sauce.

Next I add the fresh mozzarella. To be totally honest, I think the fresh mozzarella tastes wonderful, but the liquid in the fresh mozzarella can make the dish a little softer than I would like. Next time I am going to try shredded mozzarella and see how that turns out.

Then add a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Continue by adding another 1/3 of the polenta, the other half of tomato sauce, more mozzarella, and another handful of parmesan. Top the whole thing off with the last of the polenta and then sprinkle with the last of the parmesan.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes until the top is brown. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then cut and serve. I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but it looked just like the above photo, only browner.

This serves 6 adults and is a perfect main course for a vegetarian meal.