Smoked Pork Belly Eggplant And Polenta Casserole Recipes

LAYERED EGGPLANT AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF degrees with rack in upper third.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat; add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in vinegar, oregano, basil & Italian seasoning; season with pepper.
• Remove sauce from heat.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat; lightly brush eggplant slices with the remaining tablespoon oil.
• Working in batches, lay slices in skillet in a single layer; cook until browned and they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Transfer to a plate.
• Spoon about a cup tomato sauce into a 9-inch square baking dish, spreading to coat evenly; arrange eggplant slices snugly in a single layer.
• Spoon about 1 cup tomato sauce over eggplant, and arrange polenta rounds in slightly overlapping slices on top.
• Repeat with sauce and another layer of eggplant.
• Finish by dotting with remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover with foil; bake until bubbling and juicy, about 30 minutes.
• Remove foil; continue baking until sauce is lightly caramelized and eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes more.
• Remove from oven; let cool slightly, and serve.

SMOKED PORK BELLY, EGGPLANT AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet over low heat and add the eggplant slices. Cook them until softened.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the diced pork belly. Fry and stir until crispy and translucent. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
• Turn the heat to lower and use the same skillet with the pork belly drippings to cook the garlic until golden. Then add the canned tomatoes and stir them for 30 seconds or so.
• Season with salt, dried oregano, dried basil, and dried thyme. Stir them in and cook for 30 seconds. Set aside.
• Salt and heat the water in a medium pot over low heat. Gradually add the cornflour while continuously whisking. Whisk and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Drizzle the remaining vegetable oil into a 10 x 7 x 1.5 inches (25 x 17 x 4 cm) baking dish. Layer 1/2 of the polenta in it, add 6 eggplant slices and cover them with the tomato mixture.
• Add the remaining eggplant slices, layer 1/2 of the feta cheese over them, add some of the fried pork belly dices and, finally top with the remaining polenta, feta cheese, and pork belly. Bake for 15 minutes at 360⁰F/180⁰C.