Roasted Portobello and Polenta Towers

It was hard to photograph these delicious roasted vegetable towers because I really wasn't up for the wait. I knew these were going to taste phenomenal. The smell was magnificent, the Pinot Noir glistened in the sunlight, and these were the centerpiece of a romantic dinner on a hot evening. We looked at each other, raised our knife and forks, and tasted. They were awesome...gourmet...a perfect blend of flavors.

Inspired by the recipe for "Grilled Polenta and Vegetable Stacks with Tomato-Saffron Coulis" from Ann Gentry's The Real Food Daily Cookbook, I greatly simplified things by using premade options. These will make a great main for my next dinner party.

The roasted vegetables were full of rich flavor. I used thick cut tomatoes, japanese eggplant (cut on the diagonal so the rounds were larger), red onion, and, of course, the portobellos (mine were 2 1/2 " in diameter). I brushed all the veggies with a blend of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and spread them out of baking sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I baked them for 8 minutes then finished them off under the broiler for around 2 minutes each. If they looked dry, I brushed them with a little more of the vinaigrette.

The polenta was a premade sausage of polenta from Trader Joes. All I needed to do was slice off rounds and pan fry them in a little olive oil until golden (4-5 mins each side). The rounds were tasty and the rough texture made a nice contrast to the smooth vegetables.

To assemble the stacks, I covered each plate with a small amount of (heated) Three Cheese Pasta Sauce, and used the polenta rounds as the base. I then stacked each polenta rounds with a slice of red onion, eggplant, tomato, and a portobello. I then topped the portobellos with a premade pesto.

I think next time I'll try one a Mexican variation with salsa, green peppers, chilies and a cilantro pesto.

FOOD + VEGETARIAN+MUSHROOMS