Polenta and Eggplant Appetizer

How delicious is this Polenta and Eggplant Appetizer ?

On a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10!



Top with eggplant Stew and serve

I love the presentation and the eggplant sauce is very rich and flavorful. It's hard to believe how fast and easy it was to make. It took about 10 minutes prep and about 20- 30 minutes to cook.

I frequently do not follow recipes (I usually create my own from what looks good in the produce store) except when I publish for the Secret Recipe Club where we are expected to follow our assigned blog's recipe. 

The eggplant stew was absolutely delicious. The wine (the alcohol cooks off) and tomato paste added a richness that made this meatless meal exceptionally flavorful. I will be adding those to my list of ingredients to use in other recipes.

This recipe can be made as a dinner entree or cut into little rounds and served as an entree, as I did.
  

Polenta and Eggplant Appetizer
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 eggplant, cubed
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons tomato paste
3/4 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup red wine

Directions:

Add 3 tablespoons Olive oil to a medium sized saucepan. Add onion and garlic.  Saute for about 1-2 minutes, then add eggplant.  Stir and add remaining oil, plus salt and pepper, basil and parsley.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, then add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.

Finally, stir in tomato paste, marinara and wine.  Cover, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Pictures Step by Step

Chop garlic, onions, Roma tomatoes, and eggplant . Saute in olive oil until soft.



                        

Recipe for Basic polenta- follow the instructions on the box. When polenta is done, pour it into a Pyrex pie pan and leave for about 10 minutes (so it forms the shape of the pan). Turn pan upside down on a dinner plate and top with eggplant stew.



Put polenta into a sprayed pie plate for shaping wait 10 minutes



Invert from pie plate to dinner plate

Another variation:
I cut my polenta with a round cookie cutter and made individual polenta rounds topped with eggplant stew.





Cut out rounds of polenta with a cookie cutter



I no longer feel that "oil" is necessary to sauté. I would now sauté the vegetables in a little broth and use an oil-free marinara sauce such as the one from Whole Foods or Aldi. It will cut back on the calories significantly if you are a Weight Watcher, follow Forks Over Knives, McDougall Diet, or Dr. Fuhrman.

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Shared on Katherine Martinelli  blog carnival

Lemon/Garlic Pasta with Mushrooms & Asparagus-

Mushrooms and asparagus in a creamy lemon garlic sauce make this pasta recipe absolutely heavenly. We had it for dinner the other night, and we couldn't stop raving about it. The garlic/ lemon sauce definitely makes it exceptionally tasty.

Saute Mushrooms in Butter

Actually, its not my recipe. It is the creation of Anna from Sweet Anna's blog.  I made it because I am participating in a blog party group called the "Secret Recipe Club". Each month we are assigned a blog and we must select a recipe to cook and post. 

I followed Anna's recipe but made a few gluten free and personal preference substitutions.  I used  gluten free brown rice spaghetti pasta (Anna called for penne pasta but I only had spaghetti, so I went with it).

Ingredients:
1 lb gluten free pasta (penne or rotini work well!)
3-4 tablespoons butter ( or dairy free substitute)
1 lb mushrooms, sliced thick
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
1-2 garlic cloves, minced ( or more if you love garlic)
8 ounces of spreadable feta cheese log ( omit for dairy free)
2 tablespoons heavy cream ( or coconut cream)
salt & pepper, to taste
juice of one large lemon
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( optional)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Directions:

• Cook the pasta, according to package directions, until al dente, drain and rinse. Save 1/4 cup of pasta water
• While the pasta is cooking... in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter over low heat and  saute the mushrooms until golden. Toss in the asparagus and saute until just tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for about a minute.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients.
• Continue to stir until smooth, adding up to 1/4 cup of the pasta water if needed until everything is nicely coated.
• Top with more freshly grated Parmesan, chopped tomatoes, and fresh basil

Wait until you taste this pasta dish! I knew Anna's recipe looked really good, but we were in love when we took our first bite. My husband and I both said, " This is beyond good, this is amazing.

It's a recipe that everyone will love.  I know it's definitely going to be a recipe that I will make again and again. Thank you Anna.  

If you like this recipe, head over to Anna's blog. You'll really enjoy it, her pictures are beautiful and many of her recipes can easily be adapted to be gluten free with a few minor substitiutions.

Step by Step Pictures

Assemble Ingredients





Chop asparagus


Follow recipe directions and voila!

Reviewed and added: June 2026

This recipe is from my early days of blogging, before I switched from being vegetarian to vegan. Therefore it contains dairy and is higher in fat than the recipes I cook now. 

For a vegan low fat pasta dish, try my Easy Mushroom & Pepper Pasta Dish or my Eggplant Sauce for Pasta