More vegan – Layers of spaghetti squash with vegetables and tofu – polenta cakes with herbes de Provence
Courge spaghetti aux légumes et tofu, galettes de polenta aux herbes de Provence
Spaghetti squash is very versatile, delicious and fun to eat. I would not say it can replace spaghetti because if you are craving spaghetti, eating spaghetti squash will not satisfy you but it’s a light vegetable that can be prepared like spaghetti, so you just have to use your imagination. It would be a quick dish to prepare if you didn’t have to cook the squash.
The trick is to not over cook the squash or it will get mushy and soft and produce water, so the texture will be difficult to handle. The fun part of eating spaghetti squash is to work with the stringy texture, so I recommend to not overcook it.
I used express polenta that cooks in a few minutes, it will save you a lot of time. Regular polenta takes hours to cook so when using it as a element in a dish instead like this one instead of being the main focus of a dish, I use express polenta. Usually the quantity is 4 tbs per person for 1/4 liter liquid. since we are using it as a cake in this recipe, I used less.
Ingredients for 2-3
For the polenta
- 2 cups (or 1/2 liter) vegetable broth
- herbes de Provence
- 8 tbs express polenta
For the spaghetti squash
- 1 small spaghetti squash cut in half lengthwise, wrapped in foil
- 300 g extra firm tofu finely diced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, seeds removed, peeled and chopped
- 2 zucchini diced
- 1 small red bell pepper diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- piment d’Espelette
- 1 tbs chives, chopped
Preparation
For the polenta
In a pot, bring broth to a boil. Add herbes de Provence, then add polenta gradually. Stir constantly until thick and homogeneous. Remove from heat. Spread on a wooden board and make it 1.5 cm thick. let it cool to make it solid. When solid, cut rounds with a rind (that you will use to mount that little “tower” shape).
For the spaghetti squash
Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap the squash in foil. Bake in the oven for about 45 min until cooked but still firm to the touch.
In a pan, heat olive oil. Add tofu and cook tofu on all sides until golden. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add extra olive oil. Add onion and let it soften. Add all vegetables, garlic and piment d’Espelette. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cover and let cook at medium heat until tomato has reduced and vegetables cooked but still firm. Add tofu and chives. Mix well.
Place one polenta cake at the bottom of a plate. Using your rind, add some squash mixture. Add another polenta cake, and more squash. Drizzle some olive oil around and decorate with fresh herbs.
Very tastyyy