Haloumi Pasta Food

HALOUMI PASTA

Steps:

• Cut the haloumi into 1cm cubes.
• Mix dried spices together.
• Toss haloumi in 1 tablespoon oil and all the dry spices.
• Heat the remaining oil in a large frypan over medium-high heat.
• Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until softened.
• Add the haloumi and curry leaves, and cook until haloumi is golden.
• Add the tomato and chilli flakes, then bring to the boil.
• Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Stir in the pasta and cook until heated through.
• Remove from the heat and stir through the coriander.
• Serve with naan and chutney.

PASTA WITH HALLOUMI PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (or 200 C).
• Slice the peppers into quarters, cutting out the seeds.
• Lay on a lightly oiled baking tray, skin side up.
• At the same time, rub the heads of garlic with a little olive oil and set on the tray with the peppers.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• When you take the tray out of the oven, cover the peppers with clingfilm and leave to"sweat" for 10 minutes.
• This helps loosen the skin.
• Peel the peppers and place in a food processor.
• Now trim the stalk end off the garlic, cutting into the cloves.
• Squeeze the soft garlic into the food processor with the peppers.
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a couple tablespoons water, salt and pepper to taste.
• Blitz to a purée and, while the motor is running, add a couple tablespoons olive oil.
• Transfer the purée to a small saucepan.
• At the same time, start to cook the pasta.
• While the pasta is cooking, finish off the sauce.
• Chop the halloumi into chunks and stir into the sauce over a low heat until the pieces soften.
• Drain the pasta and toss with the ricotta and most of the basil.
• Pour the sauce over and garnish with the remaining basil.

PESTO PASTA WITH WHITE BEANS AND HALLOUMI

Steps:

• Prepare the pasta: Add the oil to a large, lidded sauté pan, and then place it over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic and chile, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic is nicely golden. Stir in the thyme, beans, pasta, stock, 2 teaspoons salt and plenty of pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, with the lid off, for about 5 to 10 minutes. This will help it absorb more of the liquid.
• As the pasta cooks, make the pesto: To a food processor, add the nuts, garlic, arugula (rocket), parsley, half the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Pulse a few times, scraping down the sides and pulsing again until you have a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the remaining olive oil, adding a touch extra if needed to loosen the pesto.
• When ready to serve, stir the lemon juice and half the pesto into the pasta (discard the chile, if you wish) and transfer to a large serving bowl or platter with a lip. Sprinkle over about half the halloumi, and serve with the extra halloumi and pesto to eat alongside.

HALLOUMI WITH PESTO SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Pre-heat over to 200C. Wash the peppers, remove the seeds etc and cut into slices. Coat in olive oil and put into oven for 15-20minutes (turning halfway through) until soft
• Slice halloumi into thick chunks (about 6 slices if using a normal supermarket pack) and add to oven 5 minutes after peppers have gone in (turn halfway through)
• Cook pasta according to directions on packet, drain and stir in the pesto
• Put spaghetti onto plates, share peppers and halloumi between the plates, sprinkle rocket on top and grate over with the vegetarian hard cheese (as close to parmesan as you can get)