Crispy potato and halloumi bake
Crispy baked new potatoes are mixed with a homemade chilli tomato sauce then topped with halloumi cheese before grilling until golden.
Ingredients
- 600-700g baby potatoes
- Olive oil for drizzling and brushing
- 2 x 225g packs halloumi, sliced
- 200g greek yogurt
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced (optional)
For the sauce
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
- 5cm fresh ginger, grated
- ½ tsp Aleppo or other chilli flakes (see Tip)
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram
- Handful basil leaves (greek if possible), plus extra to garnish
- 1 tsp pomegranate molasses, plus extra to drizzle
TIP
Aleppo chilli flakes are made from Turkish peppers. They’re milder than regular chilli flakes and give a sweet, smoky aroma.
Method.
- Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Boil the potatoes in a large pan of water for 12-15 minutes until tender. Drain well, then tip into a medium ovenproof dish, gently squashing them with the back of a spoon.
- Drizzle with olive oil, season well, then bake for 20-30 minutes until crispy.
- For the sauce, heat a frying pan, then add the extra-virgin olive oil and fry the onion, garlic and ginger with some salt for 8 minutes over a low-medium heat until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the chilli flakes and tomatoes, then rinse out the can with 200ml water and add that too. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, dried and fresh herbs and pomegranate molasses, then simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste but remember the halloumi is salty so go easy.
- Once the potatoes are crispy, turn the grill to medium-high. Spoon the tomato sauce over the potatoes, then arrange the halloumi on top. Brush with oil, then grill for 5-6 minutes until the halloumi is golden. Top with the yogurt, spring onion (if using), basil and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
