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
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