Moroccan Cauliflower & Halloumi

I’m a meat-eater. There, I said it. So when Ash first suggested playing around with a dish like this, I was…sceptical. Not sorry to say that I was wrong. This quick and simple meal can be made in one pan and is so full of flavour. It’s one of Ash’s favourites and uses fresh vegetables and halloumi — all in all, a great combo. We incorporate ras el hanout for bolder flavour and given all the veggies, it’s a healthier option for a fantastic meat-free meal. 

Feeds 4(or 2 hungry with some leftover)

Hands-on Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients |

480g cauliflower “rice”

½ medium onion

2 Cloves garlic

1 small head broccoli

125g dried apricots

50g sliced almonds

15g Ras el Hanout (my own recipe — here)

1 sprig fresh mint

1 large lemon, zest & juice

250g Halloumi 

55g coconut oil

15ml olive oil

pinch of smoked Maldon salt

Method |

We use the coarse grater attachment on the Magimix but you can also use a standard grater to grate all of the cauliflower until it resembles “rice”. Hence the name “cauliflower rice”…

Next, chop the onion and garlic; set them aside. Cut the broccoli into small florets and chop the mint; setting these aside too. Roughly chop the apricots and set aside with the almonds. 

Place a thick based pan on high heat and add some coconut oil to the pan. Cut the halloumi into small dice-sized pieces(about 1cm). Before adding the halloumi to the pan, it’s important to note that the pan must be very hot or the water will seep out of the halloumi and it will braise instead of turning golden brown as it should. And no-one likes boiled halloumi. Be careful, as the halloumi will “spit” due to the high heat of the pan. Remove from pan and add to the apricots. 

Add the onion and garlic to the pan with the remainder of the coconut oil. As these start to colour, turn down the heat to medium and add the cauliflower, lemon zest, broccoli, Ras el Hanout and mint. You can add a splash of water if it looks like everything is sticking to the pan (be careful not to add too much water as you don’t want everything to boil). Toss the pan regularly for about 15 minutes. 

Add the apricot, almonds and halloumi. Give one final toss and serve with a cold glass of chardonnay. Besseha.