Darshana Thacker Wendel
Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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Comments (11)
Also, do people test the recipes before publishing? Why place baking soda in the polenta? Totally necessary. The polenta should be made last. By the time I made the filling, the polenta was hard and unspreadable.
Too bland and filling too watery.
Some ingredients are just unnecessary. You don’t need the milk (just use extra broth) and you definitely don’t need baking soda. Just use the typical polenta recipe. Second, the filling is too watery and too bland. You don’t need to add the 1.5 cups of broth into the mushroom mixture, but do season it well. Thirdly, rather than using canned lentils, it is better to buy dry lentils and cook them so that they are tender but stiff and clumps together, that way you will not need to add the oat flour to thicken.
This is the second time I’ve made it. I make a few small adjustments to the filling, depending what is available, but the results look the same and are very delicious and enjoyed by all. Certainly a dish I would be confident to serve to all types of eaters (Love the Forks over knives App,)
Can’t wait to try
Sounds fabulous
I made this last week. I frankly found the filling bland. If I make this again, I am going to add some vegan Worcestershire sauce and some red wine.
Is yellow corn meal the same as polenta?
Corn meal is not a substitute for polenta. Corn meal is a finer grind while polenta is a coarser grind with regular grits often being slightly less coarse than polenta-grits can come in different grinds. You can usually substitute grits for polenta. Often white grits are found in stores, while polenta is yellow. You might be able to find yellow grits, but I haven’t seen them in stores where I currently live. Years ago, there were both finely ground grits or creamy grits and coarsely ground grits sold in the US South and in both could come in either the yellow or white color, but I haven’t lived there in nearly 50 years, so that may have changed. Mostly it will be a color issue as polenta and grits are very nearly the same product.
This is so good! Will definitely make again.
This recipe is delicious. As I was making it, I wasn’t sure if it would turn out. I was afraid it would be pasty and dry. Wow, was I wrong! The polenta crust was crispy on top and creamy in the middle and the filling was hearty and just right. I will add this to my regular recipe list.