Meatless Monday: Grilled polenta and pumpkin salad with haloumi

Wow, another Monday. That rolled around quick! And Februrary already. Whoever is fast-forwarding my days, stop it this instant.

Anyhow, today is another super-easy, super-fast dinner for hot days… and as always, customisable for your own crew. It does require you to make the polenta in advance so it’s cooled and set, however. I won’t give exact measurements for the polenta as it will depend on how many people you’re feeding, but I just follow the packet directions.

I also recommend you cook this on a barbecue or outdoor grill, it gives everything a much better flavour. I was all set to do exactly that, when it rained and was so windy it almost blew my barbecue out of the yard. Just my luck! I used an indoor ridged grill pan and while that’s perfectly acceptable, it’s just not the saaaaaame! I want my polenta charred, dammit. CHARRED.

Anyway, I dressed this up with a cheep-and-cheerful sweet chilli sauce, but you can use whatever you like. I think a mustard vinaigrette or a honey-and-chilli flavoured one would be awesome. But hey, summer. hot. lazy.

If it’s winter where you are, by all means bake the polenta. You could even grate some parmesan into the mix before you set it. You could bake the wedges alongside the pumpkin wedges, and even wedge the red onion to pop into the gaps. Add some fresh greens and quickly-seared, salty haloumi on top (ooh and maybe some olives… and maybe cherry tomatoes!) and you’ve got yourself a weeknight dish with very little effort. My favourite.

As always, can’t wait to see what you link with, so if you’ve made a meatless meal lately, do share!