The inspiration for this spectacular dish came from an utterly mundane source: I had a whole lot of vegies in my fridge that I needed to use up! It turned out to be such a hit that my kids are now begging me to make it every week.

Ingredients:

Polenta

1 litre water
1 cup polenta
½ tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion flakes
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (savoury yeast flakes)

Bean mix

2 medium eggplants, trimmed and sliced 1 cm thick
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp marjoram
2 tsp MatoZest or finely ground dried tomatoes
180 g green beans, sliced
2 cups cooked navy beans or other small white beans
2 tbsp sliced pitted olives
¼ cup diced sun dried tomatoes
4 tbsp no added salt tomato paste

Cashew sauce

½ cup raw cashews
½ cup plant milk (oat, hemp, soy, or almond milk)
2 tbsp onion flakes
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp nutritional yeast/savoury yeast flakes

Method:

Polenta

Bring water to the boil. Slowly add 1 cup polenta, stirring constantly. Return to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly for 15 minutes (I prefer to cook polenta in my Thermomix so it can do the stirring for me!)

Stir in garlic, onion flakes, paprika, pepper, turmeric, tahini and nutritional yeast/savoury yeast flakes. Pour into a small glass rectangular baking dish and leave to cool until set.
Cut into large squares, place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 10 minutes at 150°C.

Eggplant and bean mix

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip slices over and bake for another 15 minutes.

Sauté garlic and onion in a small amount of water for 5 minutes. Add kale, fennel, diced tomatoes, pepper, marjoram and MatoZest, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Add green beans, navy beans, olives, sun dried tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Cashew Sauce

Blend all ingredients until very smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sauce thickens. If you have a Thermomix, just blend on speed 8 for 15 seconds then cook at 90°C on speed 4 for 3 minutes.

To assemble, place an eggplant slice and a piece of polenta on each plate. Spoon bean and vegetable mix over the eggplant and top with another eggplant slice. Spoon more bean and vegetable mix over, then another eggplant slice, then more bean mix.

Drizzle cashew sauce over the top.