Polenta and vegetable casserole

Polenta and vegetable casserole

5
Points®
Total Time
1 hr 15 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
45 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
This recipe contains two favorite Italian beans: fava beans and cranberry beans (borlotti in Italy). Fava beans are green and grassy in flavor; borlotti are cream-colored with red streaks and have a creamy, nutty flavor. Together they form the base of this delicious casserole that’s topped with crisp, cheesy polenta rounds. You can swap in edamame or lima beans in place of favas, and pinto or cannellini beans for borlotti. We use frozen favas and canned cranberry beans in this recipe, but if you find fresh shell beans at the market in summer do try them. Fresh beans are a little more work and take more time because you have to shell them, but less time than cooking beans from dried.

Ingredients

Canned cranberry (Roman) beans

15½ oz

Shredded reduced fat Italian cheese blend

1¼ cup(s)

Canned tomatoes

14½ oz, whole, tomatoes diced, juice reserved

Peeled, steamed Fava beans

1 cup(s), frozen, thawed and skins slipped off, or frozen shelled edamame

Uncooked zucchini

1 medium, chopped

Store-bought marinara sauce

1 cup(s)

Garlic

2 clove(s), finely chopped

Dried oregano

1 tsp

Table salt

¼ tsp, or to taste

Fat free ready-to-eat polenta (in tube)

16 oz, cut into 12 (1/2-inch) slices

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.
  2. Combine cranberry beans, tomatoes and juice, fava beans, zucchini, marinara sauce, garlic, oregano, and salt in large saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to baking dish. Arrange polenta slices on top, overlapping as needed.
  3. Bake until bubbly at edges, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle polenta with cheese and continue to bake until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before dividing into 6 servings.
  4. Serving size: ⅙ of casserole

Notes

Wine pairing: Chianti or Primitivo.