This worked out great as a make ahead meal for 4 to 6 people.
1. A day or two before you need a lunch or dinner meal, make a double batch of polenta (6 cups of water to 2 cups of polenta). Once thickened, pour into a 9 x 14 glass pan and smooth out and store in fridge till the day you need it.
2. Prepare on the stove top a mixture of cooked veggies, beans, salsa and spices that will be your middle layer. 3. Now prepare or purchase a plant based cheese topping for the last layer.
4. Also cut and prep any cold items that you’d like to pile on top of the polenta pie after it is baked: mixed chopped greens/cabbage/cilantro, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, and chopped mango or pineapple. Now that you have everything prepped, putting it all together the day of your company lunch or dinner will be easy.
5. Day of Company Meal: 2 hours before you want to cook your meal, spoon the bean mixture on top of the polenta and then gently dollop the cheese mixture and spread it easily with the back of a spoon to cover all the beans. I sprinkled the top with a few pickled jalapeños and pumpkin seeds. Let it sit on the counter until you are ready to bake it.
6. Bake at 350, 25-40 minutes until bubbly. Once it is done, get out all the other cold items and put them in a line so that people can top their polenta pie with whatever they want.
