A few weeks ago I met up with some blogger gals in New York City at the uber-trendy The Smith on the upper West Side. While the atmosphere was deafeningly loud, the food was delicious. I had their special—Tuscan Eggs—and a side of cheesy polenta. I scooped out the eggs and set them aside, replacing them with the polenta. And have been thinking about that brunch ever since. So here’s my completely vegan and gluten-free version. Bonus, it’s really easy to make!
You can make this by simply assembling pre-made foods and baking for 20-30 minutes, or you can make the sauce and polenta yourself. If you use pre-cooked polenta in a tube, it will look a bit neater than mine. You can also make the polenta a day ahead. In that case, spread it into an oiled rectangular pan and refrigerate. You’ll be able to cut the polenta into squares and pop it on top.
Suitable for:
vegan, gluten-free, reduced-sugar diets
Not for:
low-sodium or migraine diets
If you are celiac, make sure you buy gluten-free polenta, which is processed in a certified GF facility.
Tuscan baked polenta
Ingredients
- 1 cup corn grits (white, stone-ground) polenta 135 g (or one tube pre-cooked polenta, sliced)
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 25 ounces tomato sauce chunky spicy marinara (700 g)
- 3 bell peppers roasted (12 oz jar/240 g dry)
- 14 ounces artichoke hearts jarred or frozen
- 6 ounces spinach fresh, baby
- 1 cup mozzarella (shredded, vegan) (115 g)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts raw (75 g)
- 1 handful basil leaves (fresh)
Instructions
- Heat 4 cups (1 L) of water in a large heavy-bottomed pot over high heat until boils. Slowly pour in the polenta while whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for about 20-30 minutes. You want it to be very thick.
- Remove the polenta from the heat and add 2 t. of the salt and whisk thoroughly. Taste and season with additional cracked black pepper and more salt if needed.
- While the polenta is cooking, preheat the oven to 375F/190C/gas mark 5. If you are roasting the peppers yourself, here is how to roast bell peppers.
- In a large oven-proof skillet, start heating the tomato sauce. Add the vegetables as you finish prepping them:
- Drain and roughly chop the roasted peppers. (Or, peel the cooled roasted peppers and roughly chop.)
- Drain and quarter the artichoke hearts. (Thaw and drain frozen ones.)
- Add the spinach about 10 minutes before you want to put the dish in the oven. Put a lid on the pan to help the spinach wilt down. Stir everything gently to mix well.
- Make a small well in the top of the tomato mixture and put a generous dollop of polenta in it. Repeat until you have about 6 polenta scoops on top. Or, place the sliced polenta across the top in a layer, nestling it down into the sauce so it's partially covered.
- Sprinkle the polenta with the cheese and then the pine nuts.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and the pine nuts are golden brown.
Notes
- 335 calories
- 13 g fat
- 2 g saturated fat
- 0 g monounsaturated fat
- 0 g polyunsaturated fat
- 0 g trans fat
- 0 g cholesterol
- 1640 mg sodium
- 160 mg potassium
- 47 g carbohydrate
- 8 g fiber
- 10 g sugars
- 10 g protein
- 9 Weight Watchers Points Plus
Stephanie, this looks DELICIOUS, thank you! I am going to try this out for me and my wife this weekend. Awesome, thanks!
This looks great, delicious and easy. Does anybody know where to get certified organic polenta in the tube? I’ve never cooked polenta, and love the idea of it already being made.
Looks great. I love polenta.
I love polenta, and this looks fabulous. Can’t wait to try it.
Looks yummy. Dare I ask about the eggs? Were they poached? Sitting on top? etc.
I love roasted red peppers and usually have a few in the freezer.
Hi Walker, of course you can ask about the eggs. The eggs are cooked about 3/4 through. Just Google Tuscan baked eggs for instructions.
This looks so delicious! I wish my husband like artichokes and spinach, because this is definitely something I’d love.
Try skipping the artichokes and using shredded kale instead.
Looks amazing! This is my ideal comfort food – I could seriously eat this every day and be perfectly content.