Calabrese Polenta Lasagna, because I don't know what else to call it, is another dish my mom made. Basic cornmeal made just the way you would make lasagna, but fool of goodness!
My mom always new how to re-invent the simplest ingredients to make them look extravagant.
Try any one of my mom's other recipes like My Mommas' Lasagna, or my Sicilian Baked Lolli, Pasta with Anchovies, or my Spaghetti and Meatballs.
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Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
- economical ingredients won't break the bank
- cool twist on using polenta that isn't so dry
- tastes great making it kid friendly
- customizable that you can make many servings at one time to feed a large family
- versatile so you can add or take away ingredients
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Ingredients
This recipe for calabrese polenta lasagna uses olive oil, onion, garlic, ground beef, tomato paste, tomato puree, fresh basil, corn meal, salt, eggs, pork sausage, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
For exact measurement details see recipe card...
How to Make Calabrese Polenta Lasagna
Heat up olive oil in a large skillet and sauté garlic and onion until fragrant and onions are translucent. Add beef and brown. Season meat with salt.
Add the tomato paste to the meat. Mix well while sauteing to ensure that the tomato paste and beef well incorporated into the ground meat. Add fresh basil (optional). Alternatively, you can add dried basil once sauce is cooked.
Add tomato puree and mix. Add whole sausage links. Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
While sauce is cooking, boil water in a large pot. Once water boils add polenta stirring constantly until it thickens and doesn't look dry anymore. About 3 to 3 minutes. Add a little more water if parts of your polenta are still dry.
Once your sauce is cooked, remove sausage and let cool. Cut the sausage into narrow slices. Set aside.
Turn out your polenta onto a wooden cutting board and shape into a rectangle. Let cool completely.
Once cool cut narrow strips about ½" thick. These will be your layers.
Prepare a baking dish by scooping a little bit of sauce on the bottom. Add about ½ cup water.
Start layering the polenta slices to cover the bottom of the dish, cutting slices where needed so that the bottom of the baking dish is not visible.
Arrange the egg, cheeses and sausage on top of the first layer. Spoon sauce on top spreading it as much as possible. Repeat. For the second layer of polenta arrange them in the opposite direction making a criss cross pattern.
Arrange toppings and continue layering polenta and toppings until you have reached the top of your baking dish.
Bake at 350℉, covered, for about 40 minutes or until the mozzarella has melted and the bottom of the dish is bubbling.
Storage:
This polenta lasagna stores very well in the fridge covered for 3 to 4 days.
You can also freeze it. Before freezing, we suggest that you slice it into serving sizes. When you are ready to consume it, remove it from the freezer and thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight.
Top Tips
The polenta lasagna will be hot. Let it stand with foil tented to let the steam out.
Save prep time by preparing your sauce ahead of time.
Save prep time by using instant polenta to reduce the prep time.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are some ways to make your polenta lasagna different:
- Spice - add hot chilli oil or red pepper flakes to bring up the heat
- Rice - substitute the polenta for rice and make a riso al forno
- Vegetarian - eliminate the meat for a vegetarian option
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. I'd love to know how you substituted ingredients to fit your dietary needs. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
Polenta is made from water and corn meal. Since cornmeal is naturally gluten-free, polenta should also be gluten free.
Polenta is made from ground corn and it differs in texture with cornmeal. Polenta is coarser while cornmeal is finely ground and can be mushy.
Try a Dessert with Your Main Dish
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe Details
Calabrese Polenta Lasagna
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caIngredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 lbs ground beef or veal
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 25 oz tomato puree
- 3 leaves fresh basil
- 3½ cups water
- 12 oz instant polenta
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs boiled and chopped
- 10 oz pork sausage 2 sausage links
- 1½ cups mozzarella shredded
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a large skillet and sauté garlic and onion until fragrant and onions are translucent. Add beef and brown. Season meat with salt.
- Add the tomato paste to the meat. Mix well while sauteing to ensure that the tomato paste and beef well incorporated into the ground meat. Add fresh basil (optional). Alternatively, you can add dried basil once sauce is cooked.
- Add tomato puree and mix. Add whole sausage links. Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
- While sauce is cooking, boil water in a large pot. Once water boils add polenta stirring constantly until it thickens and doesn't look dry anymore. About 3 to 3 minutes. Add a little more water if parts of your polenta are still dry.
- Turn out your polenta onto a wooden cutting board and shape into a rectangle. Let cool completely. Once cool cut narrow strips about ½" thick. These will be your layers.
- Once your sauce is cooked, remove sausage and let cool. Cut the sausage into narrow slices. Set aside.
- Prepare a baking dish by scooping a little bit of sauce on the bottom. Add about ½ cup water.
- Start layering the polenta slices to cover the bottom of the dish, cutting slices where needed so that the bottom of the baking dish is not visible.
- Arrange the egg, cheeses and sausage on top of the first layer. Spoon sauce on top spreading it as much as possible. Repeat. For the second layer of polenta arrange them in the opposite direction making a criss cross pattern. Arrange toppings and continue layering polenta and toppings until you have reached the top of your baking dish.
- Bake at 350℉ for about 40 minutes or until the mozzarella has melted and the bottom of the dish is bubbling.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes as it will be hot.
Notes
Top Tips
The polenta lasagna will be hot. Let it stand with foil tented to let the steam out. Save prep time by preparing your sauce ahead of time. Save prep time by using instant polenta to reduce the prep time.Nutrition
PIN it for later here
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Daniela says
Growing up my mom used to make something like this all the time! I just made this last night for my family based on your recipe and my family loved it. Thanks so much for bring back such wonderful memories for me. Cheers!
AmyG says
Glad you and your family love the recipe!