Warm winter salad on cheesy polenta

Serves 6

1 Ltr chicken stock, or water (more as required) 1 cup polenta (fine ground cornmeal)

50g butter, or ¼ cup olive oil

½ cup grated parmesan

Ground black pepper and lemon juice, to

season

Roasted winter vegetables (see recipe left) 1 ripe pear, sliced

Juice of ½ lime

1 handful dill (or use tarragon or parsley)

roughly torn

½ cup toasted walnuts

1 2 3 4

Heat stock or water until just boiling, season with salt, then gradually whisk in the polenta. Continue to stir with a wooden spoon until mixture has thickened and is simmering. Turn heat to low, cover and cook for approx. 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Add more stock or water as needed, you want a creamy, porridge-like consistency. When desired consistency is reached, stir in the butter, then the parmesan and season with a little freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Cover again and rest for 5 minutes until ready to serve.

Toss hot roasted vegetables (reheat in a 200C oven for 10-15 minutes if refrigerated) with sliced pear, lime juice, dill and walnuts.

Add spoonfuls of polenta to each dish, top with warm vegetable mix and dress with a generous amount of ranch dressing (recipe right) or your favourite salad dressing. RANCH DRESSING

Use a screw top jar to make this dressing to keep in the fridge, shaking well before each use, for use in salads, as a dipping sauce for crudites, chicken wings, fried snacks and chips, or drizzle it on a baked potato, tacos, and sandwiches.

½ cup sour cream

½ cup buttermilk

1-2 Tbsp cider vinegar (juice from a jar of

pickles is even better)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder