Polenta & Vegetable Bake

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 1 small zucchini, finely diced
• 1/2 cup button mushroom
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 10 ounces baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce, preferably lower-sodium (we used paul newman's marinara sauce)
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 14 ounces prepared polenta, sliced lengthwise into 6 thin slices (we used trader joe's organic prepared polenta0)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 450ºf & coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• 2 heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• 3 add eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
• 4 add water and spinach; cover and cook until wilted, stirring once, about 3 minutes.
• 5 stir marinara sauce into the vegetables and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• 6 remove from the heat and stir in basil.
• 7 place polenta slices in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, trimming to fit if necessary.
• 8 sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese, top with the eggplant mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
• 9 bake until bubbling and the cheese has just melted, 12 to 15 minutes.
• 10 let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.