Tofu and aubergine peanut stew
A mild tomato stew with tofu, aubergine and a measured peanut sauce.
About 40 min · 500 kcal · 34 g protein per serving
Vegan
Mushroom and white bean polenta bake
Soft polenta topped with mushrooms, white beans and thyme.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the polenta firms enough to hold the topping
- Photograph the finished dish
- Time
- About 50 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 360 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 16 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
No regulated allergens in the ingredients as listed. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- polenta. Maize is not a gluten cereal, but some polenta is milled alongside wheat; check the packet if you avoid gluten.
- vegetable stock. Vegetable stock often contains celery, and some contain milk or gluten; check the label, especially if you need it vegan.
Cooking steps
Bring the water to the boil, pour in the polenta in a thin stream, whisking, and cook over low heat for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring, until thick.
Brush a small baking dish with a little of the oil, spread the polenta in it and leave it to firm up while you make the topping.
Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan). Warm the rest of the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the mushrooms for 6 to 8 minutes, until browned.
Add the beans, stock and thyme and simmer for 5 minutes, until saucy but not dry. Spoon over the polenta.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until hot all the way through and bubbling at the edges.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
The useful detail
Keep the bean topping spoonable rather than dry. Polenta absorbs liquid from above as it bakes, so a topping that looks slightly wet in the pan is right by the time it reaches the table.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the dish. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Butter beans instead of cannellini
Larger and softer. The figures use the same record.
Per serving: about the same energy, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Chestnut mushrooms
Deeper flavour and firmer texture. Nutrition is not recalculated.
Add a vegetarian hard cheese on top
Scatter 20 g before baking, if you are not vegan. Nutrition is not recalculated.
Allergens: Adds milk.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A vegan bake that is naturally free of gluten if the polenta is milled apart from wheat. The beans carry the protein and the fibre.
| Energy | 360 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 16 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 63 g |
| of which sugars | 4 g |
| Fibre | 9 g |
| Sodium | 580 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| water | 400 g | No energy | 0 kcal | 0.0 g |
| polenta | 80 g | FDC 168867Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellowCalculated with FoodData Central's degermed yellow cornmeal record; polenta is the same ground maize. | 296 kcal | 5.7 g |
| olive oil | 9 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 80 kcal | 0.0 g |
| mushrooms | 250 g | FDC 169251Mushrooms, white, raw | 55 kcal | 7.7 g |
| white beans | 250 g | FDC 175204Beans, white, mature seeds, canned | 285 kcal | 18.1 g |
| vegetable stock | 98 g | FDC 171583Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve | 5 kcal | 0.2 g |
| dried thyme | ½ tsp | Not calculatedHalf a teaspoon of dried thyme weighs well under a gram, which is under 2 kcal at the energy density of any dried herb. | · | · |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 721 kcal | 31.8 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Ingredients marked “Not calculated” are excluded and could add at most 2 kcal to the whole recipe. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. It sets firm and can be sliced and fried the next day.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
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