Halloumi and Roasted Peppers

I suppose I have to face the fact that it's over. Linens and sandals have been relegated to the back of the wardrobe, the tan has faded, suitcases are once again gathering dust in the attic and memories of lazy, sun-filled lunches, sipping rosé, overlooking a startlingly blue Mediterranean have been firmly pushed to the back of my mind. Summer has gone and it doesn't look as though it will be back any time soon. Of course, I love autumn so my mourning won't last long, it's just that it seems to have arrived very quickly, leaving me feeling as though I haven't had a chance to properly say goodbye to summer.

This dish then is my farewell to summertime. It works well as a light lunch or as a starter. The brightly-hued, sweet-tasting peppers seem to retain the warmth of the sun that is sadly lacking at the moment and are a perfect foil for the salty halloumi; the citrussy dressing, fresh with herbs, complements both ingredients perfectly.

Go on, put those flip-flops away but make sure you've got this ready to eat afterwards. It would even go well with a glass of rosé or two...

This post is making its way over to the ever popular challenge, Cooking with Herbs. The challenge is created and hosted by Karen from the wonderful Lavender and Lovage.

I'm also sending it to Javelin Warrior's wonderful weekly challenge which encourages everyone to cook from scratch, Made with Love Mondays.

RECIPE - serves 2 as a light lunch or starter

1 x 250g pack of halloumi
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper

For the herb dressing
150ml extra virgin olive oil
a large handful of  fresh flatleaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tbsp capers, drained
juice and zest of half a lemon

The dish works best when the peppers and dressing are at room temperature and the halloumi is hot so you can prepare the peppers and dressing in advance and finish the dish by grilling the halloumi just before eating. 

Start by roasting the peppers. Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature and put the peppers in whole, on a greased baking tray. Leave for about 25 mins, turning occasionally. The skins should be blackened and starting to peel away. Remove from the oven and put them in a plastic bag to cool before peeling them and eliminating the seeds and core. Slice each pepper lengthways into quarters or thirds.

For the dressing, start by roughly chopping the parsley and capers. Add to the olive oil along with the oregano, the lemon zest and the lemon juice. Shake (or whisk) everything together well. 

When you're ready to eat, heat a griddle pan until very hot. Drain the halloumi and cut into about 8 slices, brush each slice with a little olive oil and griddle for about 1-2 mins each side, until the cheese is lightly charred and beginning to soften.

Arrange the peppers and halloumi on the plates (making sure each plate has both red and yellow peppers) and spoon over the dressing.

Serve with lots of crusty bread. 

Warm Asparagus Salad with Prosciutto and Parmesan

It is a surprising thing for me to write but I think it's true when people say that you can have too much of a good thing. Our long weekend in Paris last week proved this point rather well. It was wonderful. I mean, it was Paris in spring time and you can't really get much better than that. Under blue skies, we walked and ate crêpes, we walked and stopped for coffee and pâtisserie, we walked and ate Ladurée macaroons, we walked and .... well, you get the idea. There was a lot of walking, a lot of rich food and oh yes, there was wine too.

Les Jardins des Tuileries, May 2013

It was a perfect weekend but it did have the effect of  leaving me longing for some lighter meals and salads, something with crisp green vegetables and refreshing flavours. This warm asparagus dish seemed appropriate. The spears are not boiled but chargrilled on a ridged pan which gives an intense smoky flavour that I love. Combined with the sweet prosciutto and salty parmesan, it makes a delicious spring starter or the ideal lunch after a weekend of  gluttonous excess.

I'm linking this up to two blogging challenges. The first is the One Ingredient Challenge run by Laura (this month's host) from How to Cook Good Food and Nazima from Franglais Kitchen. Their theme for May is Asparagus and as I love it, I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's ideas.



The other is Ren Behan's Simple and In Season Challenge, another blog event that encourages us all to use local, fresh, seasonal produce.




RECIPE - serves 2

250g asparagus  
4 slices prosciutto
about 30g fresh parmesan
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Wash the asparagus and snap off the tough, woody ends - they usually break naturally. You can trim them with a knife if you prefer to have all the spears the same length. Drizzle the spears with a little olive oil and place them on a very hot ridged pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on one side so they get nice grill lines and then turn them over using tongs. Cook for about the same amount of time on the other side.

Divide the asparagus between two plates and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste. Tear the prosciutto into thin strips and drape over the asparagus. Use a potato peeler to make shavings of parmesan and let it fall naturally over the other ingredients. 

Drizzle over some more olive oil and serve while the asparagus is still warm. 

Pear, prosciutto and blue cheese salad

This salad is perfect for autumn; it's still (just) warm enough to want to eat salads but this also provides the big, hearty flavours that I start to long for at this time of year, making you feel full and satisfied.

Pears, blue cheese and prosciutto are a classic combination that never fails to please so this salad is worth bearing in mind for a quick starter if you've got friends coming over for dinner. It works really well as a lunch dish too. A delicious vegetarian version can be made with minimal fuss - just dispense with the prosciutto (obviously) and sprinkle over some roughly chopped walnuts.

A note on ingredients - I used Perl Las when I last made this - it's an organic cheese from Carmarthenshire with a strong but creamy flavour and those unmistakable blue overtones. It works particularly well in sauces and salads but you can substitute it with any strong blue cheese you happen to have. The best pears to use are the harder variety ones here; this is not the place for very ripe, mushy pears. My favourite ones in salads are Conference pears.

As you can see from the photo, it does have an undeniable 'eighties' look to it. However, I don't think that this is anything I should apologise for - it tastes great and that's what counts.

I'm sending this over to Nazima and Pierre at their wonderful new blog, Franglais Kitchen - they're hosting this month's Simple and In Season challenge, started by Ren from Fabulicious Food.




RECIPE - serves 4 as a starter

2 pears
100g prosciutto
50g blue cheese
50g single cream

Salad leaves

Wash the pears and cut into quarters, removing the core. Then cut each quarter in half again, giving you eighths.

Wrap prosciutto round each segment of pear - I find that half a slice of prosciutto is enough for one segment.

Melt the cheese and cream gently in a pan, being careful not to let it boil. It should be a pouring consistency - if it's too thick you can add a little milk or even water to thin it slightly.

Put a handful of salad leaves on a plate, arrange the prosciutto-wrapped pears on top and then drizzle over the sauce. It doesn't need any salt because of the blue cheese.

                                 

Bresaola, rocket and parmesan salad

Bresaola is cured beef fillet, produced in the Lombardy alps. After being cured in salt, it is air-dried for several months, during which time it turns a dark red colour.

It makes a delicious summery salad, perfect for a light lunch or an effort-free starter.

RECIPE - serves 2 as a light lunch or 4 as a starter

150g bresaola
a handful of rocket
parmesan shavings

half a lemon

extra virgin olive oil

Make parmesan shavings by using a vegetable peeler (a Y-shaped one works best for this).

Arrange the bresaola slices on individual plates or one big serving platter. Tear the rocket leaves and scatter over, followed by a handful of the parmesan shavings.

Just before serving, squeeze over the lemon and finish with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Pitta di patate - Puglian potato pie

GL's mother is from the Salento area of Puglia, right in the heel of the boot that is Italy. It's a place of vivid colours, from the crystal-clear turquoise seas to the verdant green of the pine forests and the rich red fertile soil. It is this soil that gives such an abundance of vegetables and these form the basis of many of the regional specialities. It's considered cucina povera in Italy, peasant food, but I would happily eat it every day. If you're lucky enough to go there, always order the antipasti della casa; one of ours comprised: stuffed baked tomatoes, minted potato croquettes, fava bean purée, swordfish carpaccio, little fritters flavoured with chilli, tomatoes and black olives, squares of artichoke frittata, pitta di patate (recipe below)...there was more, and all of it delicious but I'm getting too hungry to finish the list.

Pitta di patate is basically a mixture of tomatoes, onions, capers, chilli and olives sandwiched between two layers of mashed potato. It doesn't sound particularly appetising described in that way but just try it, you'll see. You can serve this in the traditional Puglian way as part of a bountiful antipasto, good if you've got a lot of people to feed, or I sometimes serve a square of it as a starter by itself. It's also good as a side dish. It can be prepared the day before and cooked when you want it. Not only does this make it easier if you've got people coming to eat, it actually tastes better when it's had a day or two for the flavours to settle. 

RECIPE

1 kg potatoes

4 onions

a handful of capers

200g black olives, roughly chopped

500g passata

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 egg

breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

dried chilli flakes

Peel the potatoes, cut them into even sized pieces and boil until soft. 

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the onions thinly, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions gently until soft. Next, add the olives, capers, a pinch of the chilli flakes and the passata. Mix thoroughly and continue cooking for about 5 mins.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them well and mash them together with the egg and the parmesan. The mixture should be nice and smooth, without any lumps.

In an ovenproof dish, grease with a little oil, then spread half the potatoes on the base. Pour the tomato mixture on top, then cover with the remaining potatoes, making sure that the filling is completely covered. Smooth the surface and sprinkle over a handful or two of breadcrumbs and drizzle over some olive oil.

At this point, you can leave it for a day or two in the fridge if you wish. To cook, place in a hot oven (200°C) for about 30 mins or until the top is golden brown.

In Puglia, this is eaten warm, not hot but I'll leave that decision up to you. It even tastes good cold too.