Portuguese Lasagna

This recipe gets its Portuguese twist from milho (cornmeal), which is used on the Madeira Islands off Portugal in place of a starch. H. Vern Pereira says he used to eat it topped with a meat sauce. He experimented to turn that combination into lasagna, arriving at this tasty version. From Cooking Club of America.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4  cups water
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  vegetable oil
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  cup white cornmeal
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped cilantro, divided
• 1  lb ground beef
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1 (26 ounce) jar  marinara sauce, divided
• 2  cups  shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 (4 ounce) can  sliced mushrooms, drained

Directions

1. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Bring water, oil and salt to a boil in large saucepan. Slowly whisk in cornmeal until it begins to thicken. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes or until very thick. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cilantro. Pour into baking dish; let stand until firm.
2. Cook beef and onion in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain.
3. Invert dish with cornmeal onto countertop. With piece of kitchen string or unflavored dental floss longer than dish, cut in half horizontally to form 2 layers.
4. Spoon small amount of the marinara sauce over bottom of dish. With two spatulas, place 1 layer of cornmeal in dish. Combine half of the remaining marinara sauce with ground beef mixture; spread over cornmeal layer. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese; top with half of the mushrooms. Top with remaining cornmeal layer. Spread with remaining marinara sauce; repeat layering of cheese and mushrooms.
5. Heat oven to 350°F Bake lasagna, covered, 45 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro just before serving.