Grilled Halloumi with Fresh Tomato and Mint, served on Pita

There are a few things in life that I really can’t stand, late buses, spitting in the street, exams, that sort of thing. The flavour of raw tomato is another... or so I thought. Ben will tell anyone who’ll listen that I’m one of the most pickiest girls in the world, but really I’m not that bad. I do, however, have very particular requirements on a number of things, coffee for example, and now, it would appear, raw tomatoes. Because, for the first time in forever I ate a raw tomato and didn’t screw my face up at it. Brilliant. Well not quite, the special requirement is that it’s a firm, bright red Greek tomato, preferably eaten next to a pool or by the beach. I had hoped that any old tomato would do, but like good coffee, the alternative really doesn’t come close. 

The tomato in this recipe, I’m sad to say, didn’t quite meet my exacting standards, but I’m pretty sure anyone normal would like it just fine, and placed alongside all the other ingredients this dish is a real treat, simple to make and gorgeously vibrant in colour. 

Serves One as a lunch, or Two as a starter

8 thick slices of Halloumi

half a firm tasty tomato, cut into 8 slices

2 tsp dried oregano

1-2 Pita breads

small handful of fresh mint leaves

a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the halloumi slices onto a baking tray or griddle pan (depending on which you have) and sprinkle with oregano and a little olive oil. Grill, or griddle, until golden brown. 
2. To assemble, place a heated pita in the centre of the plate, and alternate the tomato and halloumi, creating a fan effect around the bread. 
3. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with mint leaves. 

Garlic Prawn Salad with Feta and Parsley

No blog silence apologies from me, suffice to say I finished my degree. Enough said. 

As Summer supposedly draws closer (I missed the mini heatwave due to aforementioned finished degree) thoughts inevitably turn to lighter dishes, fish, salads and picnics, that sort of thing. This dish ticks all the boxes, being light (but bready too to keep Ben full) and reminiscent of the smells and flavours you might expect to encounter outside a Spanish cafe. It’s really simple to make too, so would be a good option for feeding a crowd. 

My best cooking buddy Rose and I originally made a variation of this after trawling through my ever growing collection of cook books for something ‘light and prawny’. We were very pleased with the results, but felt it could do with some tweaking, namely the addition of  the wine, which I think adds a depth of flavour, and slightly less feta, which was a little overpowering to the delicate flavours of the rest of the dish first time round, although the more you add, the more deliciously creamy the sauce will be..

Serves 2

Pack of cooked and peeled King Prawns

Good wedge of butter

half a red chili, deseeded and finely chopped

2/3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

large handful fresh parsley, chopped

75g Feta, crumbled

juice of a lemon

a small glass of white wine

Salad leaves

some crusty bread

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the prawns, chili, garlic and parsley, before sprinkling over a little salt. Stir to coat the prawns.
2. Add the lemon juice, wine and about half the feta, and leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Just before serving crumble in the remaining feta. 
4. Serve on the salad leaves, pouring over all the delicious sauce, which can then be mopped up by the crusty bread.

Simplest Salad

Spring has officially sprung in Brighton!! And with this glorious change in weather comes the inevitable healthy eating plan, in the vague hope that I may become ‘beach ready’ for Summer. Not only that, Ben is training to run the Brighton Marathon on the 15th April, and cramming in as much carbohydrates into each meal as is humanly possible. Not so great when I’m cutting down on carbs, but I have been managing to create healthy oven baked fish or chicken and steamed vegetable themed meals, with added carbs for Ben on the side. Delicious yes, but pretty boring blog material. 

Up until relatively recently I was not a fan of salad. This was until I holidayed on the Greek island of Alonissos. Up in the chora of the island are some fantastic restaurants including one that made just about the best spinach salad ever. Consisting of lardons, egg, crisp spinach and a deliciously acidic dressing, that salad was just.. amazing, and I am so thankful to have found it and realised that salad actually isn’t that bad. 

Here is my salad of the moment, all the ingredients can be swapped for whatever you have in the fridge, the dressing is fabulously versatile. I would, however, always include the egg and avocado, as I think they are delicious in salads. 

Serves One

Salad leaves (I use Sainsbury’s Bistro Salad)

3 Falafels (I use Cauldron Falafels)

1/2 avocado, peeled and sliced

a handful of thinly sliced chorizo sausage

1 boiled egg, peeled

1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl.

- For the Dressing - 

3 tsp olive oil

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard 

a shake of dried oregano

a few splashes of Maggi seasoning

1. In a clean old jam jar, shake up all the ingredients to make a thick dressing. Check the flavour and drizzle over the salad.

Honey Roasted Pear and Parsnip Salad

Now that I only have to be in University two days a week and Ben is home more in the daytime I have decided to try and make more lunchtime recipes. Rather then reheating leftovers or settling on the lazy option of pasta and cheese, I shall be trying more lunch options, and I’ve started as I mean to go on with a Honey Roasted Parsnip and Pear Salad from one of my faves Cook, Eat, Smile, written by the man behind the brilliant Bills Produce Store.

Root Veg. Pear. Honey Roasted. Blue Cheese. Quite possibly the best flavour combination ever and sexing up humble salad leaves everywhere. I’ll admit to you now, I am NOT a salad person, particularly in October. But the caramelisation of the sweet slithers of pears and parsnips, the creaminess of the cheese, and the zing of the dressing make even the most boring of leaves sensational. This recipe makes salads appetizing for colder weather too, no bad thing if you’re trying to watch your waistline.

Adapted from Cook, Eat, Smile

Serves 2

1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into strips

1 pear, peeled, cored and quartered

1 tbsp honey

50g stilton, or any other blue cheese

2 large handfuls of salad leaves (I used spinach, Bill uses the head of radicchio)

-For the Dressing-

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 tsp honey

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp lemon or lime juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Toss the parsnips in half the honey, put on a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Add the pears and the rest of the honey and cook for a further 10 minutes.
2. Remove from the tray and leave to cool slightly.
3. Place the salad leaves into a big bowl, scatter over the roasted parsnips and pears and crumble the cheese over too.
4. Whisk the salad dressing ingredients together and spoon over the salad. Mix it all together and serve.

Halloumi Salad with Beetroot and Lime Puree

I’ve been a rubbish cook this week, but I do have the excuse of two university exams. I’ve also been a pretty terrible blogger, it’s taken me a whole week to put up this fresh, vibrant salad that I made for my parents on an impromptu trip back home last week. Having a copy of Nigella Kitchen both at university and in Bath, I had a quick flick and this simple recipe immediately jumped out as a good starter option on a warm summers evening. A good choice when entertaining, the beetroot sauce can be made up ahead, so its just a case of frying the halloumi till golden on either side, and serving over salad leaves. The earthy beetroot flavour really compliments the halloumi, and the lime juice provides the right level of zing.

Slightly Adapted From Nigella Kitchen

Serves 2/3

1 packet of halloumi (approx. 225g)

2 small beets from a vacuum pack (or 150g cold cooked beetroot)

juice of half a lime

2 tbsp olive oil

1. Slice the halloumi to ½-1cm thickness. Being careful not to dye your fingers red, roughly chop the beetroot, before putting into a blender along with the olive oil and lime juice. Blitz to a puree.
2. Warm a large dry non stick pan over a high heat, add the halloumi and leave for about a minute until it has turned a golden colour, then flip and do the same with the other side.
3. Serve the halloumi on top of mixed salad leaves, and dollop the puree over.

Couscous Salad

This is the couscous salad that I served with yesterdays African Drumsticks. Couscous is such a versatile carbohydrate and makes for delicious summer salads that are satisfying too. On this occasion I chose to use a recipe from the Leon cookbook, but its very easy to rustle up something with whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Things that work great include torn up fresh herbs, chopped red onion, dried fruit, olives or sun-dried tomatoes. Put in a Tupperware and taken to the beach, it’s a great accompaniment to a whole host of picnic grub, a real signifier of summer.

From Leon: Naturally Fast Food

Serves 2

10og couscous

100g feta cheese

½ cucumber

handful of fresh mint and coriander

50g pine nuts

seeds of ½ pomegranate

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

juice of ½ large lemon

1. Prepare the couscous according to manufacturers instructions and leave to cool in a large bowl.
2. Crumble the feta and cut the cucumber into little chunks. Add to the bowl, then add the fresh herbs, roughly torn.
3. Lightly toast the pine nut in a little oil in a frying pan, over a low heat, and then scatter these and the pomegranate seeds over the salad.
4. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Whisk together with the oil and lemon juice and pour over the salad. Season to taste and serve.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £3

Kitchen Requirements: FRYING PAN, LARGE BOWL, SMALL BOWL.