For a super quick and effortless vegetarian meal this dish hits the mark. Easy and quick to prepare it is perfect for a tasty after work meal or late night supper. The success of this dish relies on a tasty vegetarian sausage however; you could use thickly sliced Portobello mushrooms instead, as they have fantastic flavour and good texture that is also perfect with soft creamy polenta.

Parmesan or any sharp tasty cheese works well in polenta but use a non-dairy cheese or omit the cheese entirely if you prefer. Choose cherry tomatoes or nice small ripe tomatoes with lots of flavour and fresh sweet basil. The pine nuts and basil really take this dish from simple to super tasty. Serve spoonfuls of the roasted sausages and tomato on a bed of soft creamy polenta and enjoy this simple vegetarian recipe.

Roasted Vegetarian Sausages w/ Soft Creamy Polenta
Preparation time: 25mins // Serves 2

• 375g (13 oz) vegetarian sausages (or Portobello mushrooms)
• 250g (9 oz) punnet cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs balsamic reduction or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 bunch basil

for the polenta

• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup polenta (cornmeal)
• ½ cup vegetarian tasty or non-dairy cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/356°F

Fry the sausages (or mushrooms) in a pan for 4-5 minutes until just golden on all sides, remove from heat and set aside. Once cooled slice diagonally in half or thirds.

Add the sliced sausages, whole cherry tomatoes and pine nuts to a baking tray. Drizzle over the olive oil, balsamic and sprinkle with brown sugar.

Roast in the pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes tossing occasionally until pine nuts are golden and tomatoes soft. Remove from the oven a toss trough torn basil leaves just before serving.

Meanwhile to make the polenta bring the stock to boil in a good sized saucepan; add the polenta in a steady stream.

Cook the polenta over a low heat, stirring continually until it becomes soft and creamy thick, about 10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir through.

Serve immediately topped with spoonfuls of the roasted sausages. Yum!