Italian Layered Dish
By: janelle
Published: Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 1:03am

Ingredients




FOR POLENTA: (unless you buy a pre-made tube)

3 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
FOR TOMATO SAUCE:

4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic
6 Roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian Herbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch sugar

4 tablespoons tomato paste
FOR LAYERED DISH:

2/3 cup Parmesan
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound mild (or hot) Italian sausage, sauteed
8 ounces fresh mozz sliced ¼ inch thick OR 8 oz shredded

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 375. 2 FOR POLENTA: 3 Combine milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan; 4 Heat to simmer. 5 Slowly add cornmeal, whisking constantly. 6 Lower heat and stir with wooden spoon, 10 min. 7 Finished when thick and pulls away from sides. 8 Off heat, mix in 1/3 cup Parmesan. 9 Layer in bottom of baking dish. 10 If using tube of polenta: 11 Crumble in bowl 12 Add Parmesan 13 Press into bottom of pan). 14 MAKE TOMATO SAUCE: 15 Add 4 T olive oil to skillet over medium heat, 16 Add garlic, stirring until golden, 3 minutes. 17 Add chopped tomatoes, herbs, salt and sugar. 18 Simmer 15 minutes stirring occasionally, 19 Add 4 T tomato paste, 20 Blend and cook another 3 minutes. 21 Saute sausage in 1 T olive oil until cooked through. 22 LAYER: 23 Sprinkle 1/3 cup Parmesan over polenta, 24 Layer all sausage, 25 Layer all tomato sauce, 26 Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan, 27 Layer top with mozzarella 28 Bake for 30-35 minutes (until bubbling). 29 Let stand 10 minutes before serving.