Posts tagged halloumi

Mango-chilli Salsa and Halloumi

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Mango-chilli Salsa and Halloumi

I don’t know where the first week of March has gone but I can surely say that it officially feels like spring! The suns been out and daffodils are starting to infiltrate their way onto desks and kitchen tables. Time for spring clean of the same old lunch time menu (i.e. soup) and a refreshing recipe….

Serves 2 (for a good lunch)

  • 1 mango, cut into 2cm cubes
  • About 8 cherry tomatoes, diced
  • ½ red chilli, chopped finely
  • ½ small red onion, chopped finely
  • Bunch coriander, chopped
  • Bunch mint, chopped
  • Bunch basil, chopped
  • ½ pomegranate, seeds
  • 1 lime
  • 6 slices halloumi
  • Runny honey
  • Handful sesame seeds
  1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and muddle together with the juice of the lime. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil
  2. Heat a frying pan until hot and add a small drizzle of oil. Fry the halloumi until golden on both sides. Turn the heat off and add a tsp of runny honey and the sesame seeds and coat the halloumi for about 30 seconds before removing from the heat.
  3. Serve the salsa topped with the warm halloumi slices.

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Herby Halloumi Wrap

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Herby Halloumi Wrap

 

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These are an enticing, comforting and friendly hug inside a warm pitta on a rainy December afternoon with the prospect of a Christmas feast approaching. A perfect semi-healthy lunch in the lead up to Christmas. I’m back home in the country air with a day of present wrapping, card writing and general festivity on the agenda. With the house and, more importantly, the kitchen blissfully to myself I welcomed the peace and solidarity and devoured these for a welcome lunch break mid Christmas chores. Alone I’ll admit but I don’t regret a thing…..a thing.

Serves 2

  • 4-6 slices of halloumi (cut thickly)
  • 2 pitta breads (For my homemade pittas see here) or warm wraps
  • Small bunch parsley/coriander
  • Small bunch basil/mint
  • Small bunch dill
  • 4 tbsp thick yoghurt
  • ½ lemon juice and zest
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  1. If making your own the pitta breads start with these (see here) and keep warm while you deal with the halloumi. If not, lightly toast the pitta breads or warm the wraps.
  2. Chop your chosen herbs finely and add the lemon zest. Mix the yoghurt with the lemon juice and some seasoning and set both aside.
  3. Heat a frying pan until hot and add a drizzle of olive oil. Fry the halloumi slices for a few minutes each side on a high heat until golden. Add the honey and remove from the heat and coat the slices in the syrup.
  4. Now assemble your pittas. Cut each open and spoon in a some yoghurt and a handful of herbs. Add your warm sweet halloumi slices and stuff with some more of the herbs and yoghurt.
  5. Devour while warm!

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Wrapped appropriately in a festive napkin….and eaten appropriately with a festive appetite!

Quinoa Salad

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Quinoa Salad

 

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I love grains and pulses like quinoa, bulgur wheat and lentils. I’ve always had an appreciation for good food and using interesting ingredients, solidified even more so after painfully watching 3 years-worth of university flatmates religiously eating and buying couscous, pasta and pesto for most meals. So, I thought I’d draw attention to other grains that can offer a little more interest than couscous. Don’t get me wrong, I know couscous is cheap and goes a long way…but its not particularly nutritious. Just by mixing grains like quinoa, bulgur wheat, rice or lentils with a few tasty additions like herbs and lemon with some protein packed nuts and some greasy cheese is a healthy and hearty lunch!

Serves about 2

  • About 120g quinoa/bulgur wheat or a mix (or as pack instructs)
  • Bunch basil leaves, chopped
  • Bunch of mint leaves, chopped
  • Bunch coriander, chopped
  • ½ red onion, diced finely
  • 1 large tomato, de-seeded and diced
  • Handful of pistachios
  • 1 lemon, juice
  • Olive oil
  • Halloumi
  1. Prepare you quinoa/bulgur wheat (or even couscous?) as instructed on your pack. Usually about 10 minutes in boiling water.
  2. While still a little warm, mix with the tomato, onion, lemon juice, a small drizzle of olive oil and mix well and season to taste
  3. Add the herbs and the pistachios and mix.
  4. If serving with halloumi, fry chunky slices in a splash of oil until golden and serve alongside.

Celery, Pistachio and Red Onion Halloumi Salad

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Celery, Pistachio and Red Onion Halloumi Salad

I absolutely love halloumi and seem to eat it for the majority of my lunches. Served on salad, in couscous, with lentils or stuffed between the warm toasted arms of a fluffy pitta and some punchy herbs its always welcome. The weather today was shockingly poor but I fancied salad regardless. This is a fresh and satisfying one if your stuck for inspiration…

Serves 2

  • 1 little gem
  • A few large handfuls of mixed leaves -rocket, watercress, spinach
  • Small bunch of coriander, chopped
  • 2 slicks celery, sliced thinly on diagonal
  • Handful pistachios
  • ½ red onion, sliced in half moons
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 slice stale bread, cubed (sourdough works best)
  • 1 tsp spice mix (see note), optional
  • 200g approx halloumi cheese, sliced
  1. Place the red onion slices in a shallow bowl and cover with the red wine vinegar and 1 tsp of salt.
  2. Pick the outer leaves from the little gems and cut the heart into quarters. Mix together in a large serving bowl with the salad leaves, coriander, celery, pistachios and seasoning.
  3. Heat a frying pan until hot. Add a small splash of oil and fry the halloumi slices for a few minutes each side until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen roll and set aside
  4. Add the cubed bread to the hot pan with a little more oil if needed. Season and scatter with the spice mix (alternatively, use a tsp of cumin seed, fennel seed or like etc). Toast until golden and crisp.
  5. Dress the salad with the lemon juice and a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil. Drain the red onions and scatter on top.
  6. Serve scattered with your warm toasted croutons and fried halloumi!

imageNOTE: My spice mix contains the following spices, toasted in a hot frying pan until fragrant and ground in a pestle and mortar.

  • 1 tbsp fennel seed
  • 1 tbsp cumin seed
  • 1 tbsp coriander seed
  • 1 tbsp fenugreek seed
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
  • 3 cardamon pods
  • 1 star anise

Fried Halloumi with Minted Cous Cous

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Fried Halloumi with Minted Cous Cous

This week I am wholeheartedly and gratefully embracing the warm sunny weather we’ve been having after a looooooooong refreshing and bracing spring. I can start work on my tan which currently can only be compared to a Farrow & Ball white paint chart where I am bordering the ‘Wimborne White’ with an aim of becoming more in keeping with a natural shade of ‘Cat’s Paw’. I love the excuse to bring out all the flavourful salads I crave which just don’t meet the winter demands….

Minty Cous Cous Salad (adapted from ‘What Katie Ate’)

  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 100g giant cous cous
  • 200g cous cous
  • 100g pumpkin seeds
  • 60g pine nuts
  • 100g flaked and/or whole almonds
  • 2 courgettes, peeled into ribbons or sliced thinly with a mandolin
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • A generous handful of chopped mint, basil, parsley and coriander or a mixture of these herbs you prefer chopped finely
  • Light vegetable stock
  • Handful of rocket, watercress or leaves
  • 1 lime
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Halloumi to serve
  1. Heat a splash of oil in a pan and add the cumin to fry for a minute. Then add the giant cous cous and toast until fragrant for a few minutes.
  2. Add a good splash of stock to cover and cook the cous cous for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain.
  3. Toast the pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and flaked almonds in a dry pan until fragrant.
  4. Add another splash of oil to a hot frying/grill pan and add the courgette strips and char for a few minutes until crisp.
  5. Season the small grain cous cous and add a knob of butter. Pour over 300g of stock, cover and allow to absorb. Then using a fork, fluff up the grains.
  6. Now to assemble, combine the giant drained cous cous and the fluffed cous cous. Add the courgette ribbons, seeds and nuts, a generous handful of the herbs and the salad leaves
  7. Add a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to loosen and scatter with the spring onions.

This is delicious served with some fried halloumi and a minted lime yoghurt and flatbreads and a lovely addition to a BBQ.

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