One of my latest summer projects has been to try new healthy recipes. Boy did I sure hit the jackpot when I found The Gormet Vegetarian Slow Cooker. by Lynn Alley I was first introduced to this book via our newspaper's food column which praised it highly for it's tasty recipes and the little effort it took to prepare them. So far I have tried 3 and all of them have been successful.
Admittedly, I was nervous of even introducing the name of this book to my family, especially considering that they are hard-core carnivores. While I myself am not a vegetarian, I was afraid that my culinary endeavor to bring more veggies to our table would be looked at askance. So when my dinner night came around in which I prepared Polenta Lasagna with Tomato Mushroom Sauce) I broke it to my family gently. “I am going to try an new crock pot recipe” I said. Later during dinner when they gave their approval I uttered the name of the book and added, “it is actually vegetarian” (implying that not all main dishes dominated by veggies are yucky).
My second recipe (the Cauliflower Enchilada with ) I tried out at the church potluck (a dangerous thing to do, especially at a small church where you can’t claim ignorance as to whose crock pot “that stuff” came out of!). Despite having to improvise with the ingredient a bit the result was delicious and I had several requests for the recipe.
So you meat-lovers out there, try these recipes! Just because they come from a “vegetarian” cookbook doesn’t mean they all include tofu. Do what I did and check out the cook book at the library if you can.
Note regarding the following recipe...
If you can just use the store-bought tomato sauce and spare yourself the work of making it in the crock pot. If this is your situation then simply skip the first part of this recipe and go straight to the "polenta" and "lasagna" parts of the recipe.
POLENTA LASAGNA WITH TOMATO-MUSROOM SAUCE
For most of us, the mention of lasagna conjures up mouthwatering images of rich tomato sauce I~ered with rich cheeses and thin noodles. But a type of lasagna can also be made using polenta rather than pasta. In this polenta lasagna, the old familiar formula appears, but the packaging (polenta instead of lasagna noodles) is new. I recom¬mend making the tomato sauce a d~ ahead of time, and possibly having two slow cookers on hand so that you can pour the polenta quickly from one into the other.
Tomato-Mushroom Sauce
4 pounds flavorful tomatoes
1 ounce dried porcini or cremini mushrooms
2 tablespoons plus 1{4 cup olive oil (preferably a high-quality, fruity olive oil)
1{2 yellow onion, finely chopped 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Basic Polenta
1 cup polenta 5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
To make the sauce, using a paring knife, cut a cross in the stem end of each tomato, then drop them into a pot of boiling water. When the skins begin to come loose, carefully remove the tomatoes from the water with a skimmer, allow them to cool slightly, and then peel off the skins. Chop the tomatoes very coarsely and place them in the insert of the slow cooker.
Rinse the dried mushrooms, then soak them in a small bowl in about I cup of water for 30 minutes. Lift out the softened mushrooms, leav¬ing any grit behind, and squeeze the excess liquid out of them. Add the mushrooms to the tomatoes.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and saute the onion until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for about I min¬ute longer, then add the mixture to the insert. Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the sauce has thickened to your liking. Stir in the remaining olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. The sauce can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated in a covered container.
To make the polenta, combine the polenta, water, and salt in a clean slow cooker insert. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until the polenta is creamy and the grains are tender. Stir once or twice during cooking.
Lasagna
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, if possible) 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
6 large fresh basil leaves, rolled like a cigar, then thinly sliced into strips
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 to 4 cloves garlic
1 cup ricotta cheese
To make the lasagna, oil the inside of a slow cooket' insert (this is when having two slow cookers comes in handy!) and prepare and set out the other ingredients so assembly will be quick and easy.
When the polenta is done cooking, pour half of it into the bottom of the oiled slow cooker insert, carefully smoothing it into a neat layer. Next, carefully pour I cup of the sauce over the polenta, trying not to disturb it. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan-mozzarella mixture over the sauce, and then drop balls of ricotta over the cheese, using all of the ricotta. Carefully spoon in the remainder of the polenta, trying not to disturb the cheese-tomato sauce layer, then top the layer of polenta with the remaining cheese.
Cover and cook on low for about 2 hours, or until all the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot all the way through.
Allow to set for about 15 minutes after turning off the slow cooker. The portions may not come out set as perfectly as they would from a regular lasagna pan, but the contents will be colorful and delicious. This is another one of those dishes that is just as good the day after!
SUGGESTED BEVERAGE: Anything, just as long as it is red and dry. I can think of all sorts of wines I would enjoy with this dish: California Zin, Barbera, Chianti Classico, or super Tuscan (when I can get it).
~*Recipe form The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley*~
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