This lasagna is layer, upon layer of decadent flavor. The polenta itself is infused with lemon thyme who’s fresh bright flavor contrasts with the woody mushrooms and the salty, yet sweet, gorgonzola. For a surprising crunch, toasted pine nuts finish this dish. A change of pace from my usual recipes that are cooked 100% in the pressure cooker. Though without one, I would have spent all day making polenta instead of multi-tasking and sauteing while pressure cooking!
This recipe is a definite show-stopper for an Autumn dinner party. It is easy too because you can do all of the prep work ahead of time, say in the morning, and simply turn on the oven to melt the cheese before serving. I have included lots of tips in this recipe that I often don’t get a chance to share with you while pressure cooking including how to clean wild mushrooms and using the most flavorful part of parsley (it’s not the leaves)!
(per serving)
- Serves: 6 to 8
- Serving size: ⅛
- Calories: 553.8
- TOTAL Fat: 20.9g
- TOTAL Carbs: 61g
- Sugar Carbs: 5.5g
- Sodium: 707.5mg
- Fiber Carbs: 6.7g
- Protein: 20.1g
- Cholesterol: 55.1g
- 2 cups (500g) coarse Polenta Flour (white or yellow)
- 8 cups (2lt) liquid (water or stock)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 bunch of Lemon Thyme
- 1lb (500g) of Mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned
- 1 bunch of Parsley, chopped (stems and leaves separated)
- ½ cup (125ml) white wine
- ½ cup Grana Cheese, grated
- 8 oz. (250g) Gorgonzola Cheese (Piccante or Strong - it has more blue and less cream), sliced
- 2 oz. (40g) Pine Nuts, toasted
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Begin by preparing the polenta. Oil the forms well and set aside.
- Then, make one pressure cooker polenta recipe with the addition of the fresh lemon thyme leaves before closing the pressure cooker for cooking (reserve a few for garnishing).
- As soon as the polenta is ready, pour it into your forms and set aside to cool while you tackle the filling.
- For the mushroom filling, delicately clean your wild mushrooms. Instead of just chopping the dirt-filled roots off, as you would with white button mushrooms, peel as little as you can of the outside flesh with dirt on it leaving the stem as intact as possible (the stem of wild mushrooms is flavorful as well). Depending on the size, either leave the mushrooms whole, slice in half or slice thinly to get all of the mushrooms to a similar size.
- Swirl of olive oil in a sautee' pan and toss in the finely chopped parsley stems (yes, they are more flavorful than the leaves but take a little longer to cook!)
- When the stems begin to sizzle add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and begin to soften and lightly brown them (about 10 minutes). When the mushrooms are close to finished, add the wine and fresh parsley leaves and delicately deglaze any yummy bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- If your polenta has cooled enough to solidify, remove it from its form and firmly pull a sharp knife (without sawing back and forth) across the middle, horizontally, to slice.
- Now, you can begin layering your polenta "lasagna." Put the base of the lasagna on an individual oven-safe dish that you will use to serve.
- Over the base put a layer of Gorgonzola, mushrooms, and just a little sprinkle of grana cheese (to act as glue to the top).
- Add the top layer of the lasagna and cover with more Gorgonzola cheese.
- Put the plates in the oven, at about 400F or 200C just long enough to melt the cheese (about 5-10) minutes. Decorate with mushrooms, thyme leaves, toasted pine nuts and serve while the Gorgonzola cheese is still hot and bubbling.
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ohhhh.yummmm. for sure going to try. thanks.
Oh this looks glorious in every way. I’ll bookmark this recipe for sure.
That looks so so good! I LOVE mushrooms. I recently made this portobello mushroom tower and it was so yummy!
Wow, what an interesting combination of ingredients – and thanks for the tip about cooking polenta in the cooker – have never read that before!
This looks fabulous. I had never thought of making a polenta based lasagna, but this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing! :D
Wow! Completely beyond delicious, if there is such a thing. That dish looks so good, it’s getting printed out right now and will soon make an appearance on our table. Great job!
This looks beautiful, I love the combination of gorgonzola and mushrooms.
About the chesnuts, they were ready cooked and peeled, you can buy them vac packed at the supermarket.
Anna your sister,
It looks so good. I will make it for dinner tonight.
Anna
I have never seen polenta looking so good. Wonderful colors fit for a “Natura Morta”. Bravissima!
I have never seen polenta looking so good. It”s almost like a still life painting! And I am sure it is as tasty. Bravo!
This photo blew me away.
An image fit for the cover of Food & Wine!
Ditto to what Sheila said! Also, a 5 star dish!!! I will definitely be throwing in some lemon thyme the next time I make polenta! That alone sounds delicious, but then the cheese and mushrooms layered with it makes this a Gourmet dish! So lovely and delicious!
OMG. This is like food porn. Looks amazing!
This looks delicious and really great for meatless days. I love gorgonzola cheese which is great on pasta too. I seriously get so bored standing at the stove stirring polenta until it is cooked. Cornmeal is a staple that we ate almost everyday when we moved until our budget was on track again months later. I will say that one of our favorite ways to have polenta was to put it in the freezer (dries it out), let it thaw, and fry it with carmelized onions. This is Hubby’s favorite. I can’t wait to try this recipe, it has all the ingredients I love.
I just made this recipe yesterday and it’s incredible, my kids loved it, althow I had to skip lemon thyme because I didn’t find it. Thank you very much!
This is such a rich and savory recipe!!!! One of my new favorites!!! And I and so much fun making it!!!! My very first time making poenta and it was so smooth, creamy, and delicious!!! I wouldn’t change a thing to this recipe!!! Yummy!!!
This looks amazing, and I hope I get a response considering this posted 9! Years ago, but…
1) How many servings does this recipe make?
And
2) where did you get those gorgeous plates to make the graded layers? Wow!
Welcome JC! This recipe makes 6-8 servings – I used your comment as an opportunity to update the recipe with this information.
The containers were part of an “appetizer” set. Just look at your favorite homeware store in that section – you might find something similar or even cuter!!
Ciao and Happy Holidays!
L