Fresh lemon juice and lemon thyme combine to create aromatic halloumi, baked for a perfect crisp and served on a fresh salad of shoots and baby leaves rounded off with a balsamic glaze. Serve with spicy sweet potato wedges.

Halloumi needs no introduction (I already did that here) but I will say once again what a dream lemon and halloumi are together. I took a bit of a risk for this dish combining fresh lemon juice with lemon thyme but it was a gamble that paid off. This is dish is pure spring/summer food and definitely going to become a regular of mine.

To really allow the flavours in the marinade to permeate and be caught by every slice, spreading the halloumi over the bottom of a wide dish works well. Don’t be afraid to get your hands a bit messy; rub the lemon thyme onto the cheese and in with the juice and garlic to release the flavour.

I served this with sweet potato chips according to this recipe with a sprinkling of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper added before baking to give them a kick. The balsamic glaze, I must confess, was lovingly shop-bought (from M&S). Whilst I’m sure it would be possible to make something similar, it’s very handy to have a bottle to pull from the back of the fridge now and then and put the effort elsewhere. Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the halloumi:

450g halloumi cheese (I went for ‘lighter’ halloumi), cut into thick slices

Juice of one lemon

1tbsp fresh lemon thyme, stems removed

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Black pepper to taste

For the salad:

1 carrot, sliced into ribbons (a veg peeler is best for this job)

100g mixed shoots (lentil, pea and bean shoots are used here, but any combination like this would work)

75g mixed baby leaves (again any combination works – here it is chard, lambs lettuce, green lettuce, red lettuce, frisée, spinach)

8 vine tomatoes, halved

Balsamic glaze/dressing of your choice

1. Mix the lemon juice, lemon thyme, garlic and black pepper together, ensuring the thyme leaves are well-bruised to release the flavour. Pour this over the halloumi and marinate for twenty to thirty minutes.
2. Preheat an oven to 200c / 180C fan / gas mark 6.
3. Spread the marinated halloumi over a baking tray, leaving the excess marinade in the original dish. Place in the oven and bake for fifteen minutes – turning halfway and covering with 2/3 of the remaining marinade.
4. In the meantime, mix the salad ingredients together.
5. When the halloumi is crisp and golden brown, remove from the oven and cover with the remaining liquid from the marinade.
6. Place atop the salad and drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Garnish with a spring of lemon thyme and serve with the seasoned sweet potato chips or your chosen side.

This recipe is my entry into Betta Living’s vegetarian recipe competition in celebration of National Vegetarian Week in May. Find out more and submit your entry here.