Roasted Tomato Polenta with Vegan Halloumi

This Roasted Tomato Polenta with Vegan Halloumi is a hearty plate of food that celebrates the end of summer. Get the recipe below.

Seasonal eating

This dish of roasted tomatoes served on top of polenta with fried vegan halloumi is simply divine. It has all the flavours of summer and the contrast of the creamy polenta, juicy tomatoes and crispy halloumi makes every mouthful as exciting as the last.

There are a couple of elements to making the dish. You need to roast the tomatoes, make the polenta, and fry the halloumi. It does mean there’s a bit of washing up to do at the end but its worth it.

Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients that make this dish so delicious.

What are heirloom tomatoes and where can I buy them?

You’ll see from my photos that there are red, orange, yellow and green tomatoes sat atop the creamy polenta. These are different heirloom tomatoes.

We can get technical but, in short, heirloom tomatoes are ones that haven’t been cross-bred. The reason the tomatoes we buy in the supermarkets all look and taste the same is because they’ve been bred that way. They’ve usually done this so that they have certain characteristics – like having a long shelf life.

Because of this, our supermarket tomatoes aren’t always that flavourful. Heirloom tomatoes on the other hand taste like sunshine! And, for that reason, I love to use heirloom tomatoes in recipes like this where tomatoes really are the star.

You can get heirloom tomatoes at farmer’s markets or even online from stores like Isle of Wight Tomatoes. Some of the better supermarkets do stock heirloom tomatoes during tomato season which is really good to see.

Of course you could also grow your own heirloom tomatoes! That’s a great way to have delicious tomatoes on hand right throughout summer.

What is polenta and how do I cook it?

Polenta is a dish made from ground cornmeal.

You mix it with either water, stock or (plant) milk and simmer it. It’s important to keep stirring until it gets to your desired thick, creamy texture. If you want it extra creamy you can add butter which I do in my recipe (see below).

It’s such a versatile dish. You can flavour it with cheese and herbs. You can serve it with cooked vegetables (like the roasted tomatoes in this dish) or with sauces.

Although not part of this recipe, some people let it get cold so that it firms up. You can then cut it into “chips” and fry it!

Full instructions on how to make a luxurious, creamy polenta are found in the recipe card below.

Where can I buy vegan Halloumi?

I’ll admit, good vegan halloumi is still pretty hard to come by.

There are a couple of brands who make something similar to halloumi in the UK. The best ones are Violife, Tescos and KindaCo. I’ve used KindaCo’s Mozzaloumi for this recipe.

The recipe