Some people probably think, ‘ugh, leftovers, that’s not very sexy!’ But I love them. I think of them more as ‘Hurray! No need to cook from scratch today, so I can spend more time crafting!’ ;-) I love getting creative with how I use the leftovers too. Sometimes I discover new favourite dishes. Like this one!
I had some leftover marinara sauce, but didn’t fancy pasta or pizza, and I didn’t have any lasagna. Hmm.. what to do? But then I came across a pack of polenta in the cupboard and that makes a very good lasagna replacement. To make sure I got my five-a-day, I also used a few handfuls of peas and a couple of tomatoes. ;-)
There are no exact measurements because by the very nature of leftovers, you don’t always have the same amount of ..whatever. But that’s when you improvise! :-)
What I used:
A decent portion of marinara sauce – use your favourite recipe or find one on the internet. Or use a ready made jar of sauce.
A pack of ready to use polenta (or make it from scratch if you want).
A couple of tomatoes, diced.
2-3 handfuls of peas
A bit of grated (vegan) cheese
What I did:
Cut the polenta into slices that are approx. 5mm / 1/4″ thick. Since polenta doesn’t have a lot of flavour on its own, I usually fry the slices in a bit of oil with some herbs (garlic, rosemary and thyme) and then put them on some kitchen roll paper to soak off excess oil. But you can skip the frying step and use the slices as they are.
Cover the bottom of an oven proof dish lightly with a bit of the marinara, then put slices of polenta on top. Cover with sauce, then add the peas and tomatoes. Add another layer of polenta and finish with the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake in the oven at 200°C for about 20-25 minutes.
Enjoy! :-)
