Moussaka Polenta
Perhaps you read my last post and are thinking that you may be gluten-intolerant. The first reaction is usually, “But, but…I love [insert glutenous food]!” Well, it’s like life. You can’t have it all, and the more you focus on your limitations and what you can’t have, the more miserable you are likely to be. (Still working on practicing what I preach*cough*).
There are a lot of foods out there that are naturally gluten free, and the market continues to meet the increasing demand for gluten-free menus and products. (Thanks to Patrick for his comment pointing out the joys of gluten-free eating at Brasa). Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and tubers are GF. (Hallelujah, potatoes are safe!) When I cook at home, it’s quite easy to be GF, with the main concern for meal planning involving starches. The following grains are all naturally gluten-free and serve as filling starch substitutes:
- Amaranth
- Buckwheat (really, the name is misleading)
- Corn
- Millet
- Quinoa
- Rice (phew!)
- Sorghum
- Teff (note: injera is often made with a blend of teff and wheat flour)
- Wild Rice
- Oats, if they’re labeled gluten-free. Many oats are cross-contaminated with wheat due to crop rotation and processing.
This is a recipe I made recently one Sunday night in preparation of the rest of the week (plus a few for the freezer that I pulled out when I was too tired to cook). In reality, it was a way for me to salvage a pan of tasteless polenta pizza I experimented with a few days before and use up some eggplants and peppers from the market. The inspiration is a cross between the Turkish imam bayildi (braised eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, garlic, onion) and moussaka (I posted about a veggie version of a while back). Both dishes often have ground meat, but I found it filling from the polenta and the eggplant (plus, good meat is expensive, yo).
Moussaka Polenta
- Polenta (you can use store bought or make the polenta yourself from cornmeal)
- 2-3 large eggplants, sliced in 1/2 in. rounds
- 1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
- Olive oil for sauteeing
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 c. carrots, chopped
- 1 c. green pepper, chopped
- 1 c. celery, chopped
- 1 tsp. oregano
- Salt, pepper
- Optional: 1/2-1 c. cream cheese, soy cream cheese, or ricotta
- 1 c. grated Parmesan, or another cheese that melts well and is a little salty
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Salt the eggplant slices, and let sit for at least 30 minutes to draw out water and accompanying bitterness. It looks like this. Use paper towel or clean cloth towels to pat the eggplant dry.
2. Cook the sauce. In olive oil, saute onions, garlic, then the celery, carrots, and green pepper with oregano, salt, and pepper. Add crushed tomatoes. Simmer until vegetables are tender and the sauce slightly reduced. Taste, adjust seasoning to taste.
3. Assemble. Layer 1/2 in slices of polenta at the bottom of a lightly greased 13X9X2 or larger baking dish (you might need two dishes, like I did). Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce. If you want to add some creaminess, you can dab on some cream cheese or ricotta at this point (usually, moussaka has a bechamel sauce). I used soy cream cheese that I had left over from a previous experiment. Then layer on the eggplant slices. More tomato sauce over the entire thing. Sprinkle cheese.
4. Bake for about 45 minutes-1 hour, making sure that the sauce is heated through, the eggplant tender, and the cheese is melted. I covered mine with foil. You may want to place a baking sheet under the dish you use, in case the sauce boils over. Let cool before serving. This is also good with extra rice.
