Mediterranean Tomato and Halloumi Bake
This Mediterranean Tomato and Halloumi Bake is a quick, healthy, vegetarian dinner. Delicious crispy, salty cheese slices on top of a rich tomato vegetable sauce.
Servings: 2 People
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Olive oil Plus extra for brushing
- 1 Large onion Peeled and chopped into chunks
- 3 Cloves garlic Peeled and crushed
- 2 Medium courgettes (zucchini) Chopped into chunks
- 1 Large aubergine (egg plant) Chopped into chunks
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 400 g Tin of chopped tomatoes See notes
- 1 tbsp Tomato puree See notes
- 1 tsp Honey
- Salt and pepper
- 250 g Halloumi cheese
Optional:
- Fresh parsley or basil to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and soften for 5 minutes.
- Add the courgettes, aubergine, cumin and smoked paprika and cook for a further 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, honey and salt and pepper. Half fill the empty tomato can with water and splosh in too. Pop the lid on the pan and let everything cook down for about 10 minutes. (See notes below.)
- Preheat the grill to very hot.
- When the sauce had thickened and softened, cut the halloumi cheese into thin slices, place on top of the vegetable sauce and brush (or spray) with oil.
- Pop under the grill for about 5 minutes until the cheese is crunchy and golden.
Notes
Cooking time: Ten minutes is the minimum time to cook down the vegetable stew part of this recipe, but if I have longer, I try to let it cook for up to 30 minutes. It's not necessary, but it just makes it a bit richer in flavour
Halloumi consistency: I like to let the grilled halloumi cheese get really crispy and crunchy. You can grill it for less time if you prefer it soft though
Leftovers: This reheats surprisingly well and the leftovers make a great lunch
Veggies: This rich sauce lends itself well to the courgettes and aubergine I put in, but feel free to add anything you prefer. Mushrooms, peppers, peas or broccoli are tasty alternatives
Tomatoey sauce: This is made up of tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Try buying good quality here as it’ll make all the difference to the depth of flavour in the sauce
Serving suggestions: Crusty bread, couscous, jacket potatoes, green salad, orzo or rice
Nutrition
Calories: 625kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Sodium: 1792mg | Potassium: 1825mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 1410IU | Vitamin C: 66.3mg | Calcium: 1405mg | Iron: 5mg