Halloumi and Pepper Couscous
I went through a stage of eating a lot of couscous about 12 years ago. It seemed like a more sophisticated accompaniment to quiche. It was also cheap, it came in a packet already ‘infused’ with spices and tiny bits of tomato and olives.
But it tasted synthetic, dry and I got bored of it pretty quickly. So I didn’t have very high hopes when I spotted this recipe in the BBC Healthy Good Food: veggie dishes book. I love halloumi though and was looking for an excuse to use it. I first had halloumi 10 years ago when visiting my brother who was living in Cyprus at the time. It is a very firm cheese, salty and can be eaten fresh but it normally barbaqued, grilled or fried in slices or diced into cubes. It doesn’t melt though and back them this fact alone made it a novelty. If you don’t eat it hot it will seems quite rubbery, luckily this recipe is both simple and fast.
As I live with an unrepentant mushroom hater, I have adapted the original recipe and replaced 5oz of sliced mixed mushrooms with 1 diced aubergine. I have also added a generous handful of mixed seeds, because they’re good for you and add a crunch.
Ingredients:
150g plain couscous
290g jar of mixed pepper antipasti
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove of garlic crushed (I prefer frozen garlic cubes, they are cheaper & easier. 1 cube = 4 gloves apparently but it wasn’t overwhelming)
1 small aubergine cubed
140g of halloumi cubed
2 heaped tablespoons of mixed seeds
15g mixed fresh herbs. I used basil and parsley.
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Place the couscous in a shallow dish and pour over half a pint (300ml) of boiling water. Cover lightly with clingfilm and leave for 5 minutes.
Pour the antipasti into a small pan and heat gently for 3 or 4 minutes.
In a large frying pan or wok add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or I prefer to use some of the oil from the antipast) and add the garlic and aubergine for the pan.
A lot of recipes say you should salt aubergines before frying them as the act like sponges otherwise. I never do and they cook perfectly well but this is something you may need to experiment with. The aubergine will take around 10 minutes to cook and will be browned all over. If needed, add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan along with the halloumi and fry it for 2 minutes until golden brown.
Remove the antipasti from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and stir that and the chopped herbs through the couscous and season. The original recipe said to serve the couscous topped with the aubergine and halloumi and garnish with extra herbs but I like to mix it all up together.
The antipasti adds moisture to the dish but don’t make it oily and the taste is anything but dry or bland. Fresh herbs make a big difference too. This one is a firm favourite already.
