Ottolenghi's Warm Halloumi & Chicory with Pomegranate & Walnuts

I received some chicory in my Oddbox* the other week and as I've never cooked with or even tried chicory before, I reverted to my good friend Google to help me find a recipe. As always, Google didn't disappoint.

I'm not usually comfortable experimenting with vegetables I haven't experienced before, especially when I have no idea what to tastes like and what it would go well with. I've been brought up on Indian food for most of my childhood, therefore my only knowledge of cooking was how to create Indian dishes using Indian spices and ingredients up until I went to university. Since living out from home I've been keen to venture into different cuisines and flavours to broaden my cooking skills. That is why Oddbox* is such a fantastic way to do this. Not only can I do my bit for the planet by saving all these beautiful fruit and vegetables from going to waste, I'm able to try new ingredients and use my creativity to produce new and exciting recipes!

Anyway, back to this dish...

Having seen some fellow foodies rave about Ottolenghi's recipes, when I came across this one I knew I had to try it! And boy did it deliver!

The combination of halloumi's salty taste and chicory's slight bitterness infused with sweet pomegranate and toasted walnuts, creates an unbelievable dish that your tastebuds will remember! The fruit and nut dressing reminds me of the dishes served in Middle Eastern cuisine, so I had an inkling that it was going to be flavourful. Stir it into some red wine vinegar with a dash of sugar to mellow out sourness, it is one of the best dressings I have ever discovered (plus is helps that it looks beautiful too). The contrast of colours in this dish are stunning - definitely one to save for when you have guests over if you want to wow them!

And finally, its is super quick and easy to make - you can whip this together (including prep) in 30 minutes! You wouldn't believe it because it looks sooo incredibly fancy!

Please note the recipe below is of the ingredients I used as I decided to switch some out for healthier alternatives. You can always use full fat halloumi and caster sugar instead.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2-3):

• 150g pomegranate seeds (ie, what you'll get from 1½ pomegranates)

• 50g walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 3 tbsp red-wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish

• 1½ tsp coconut sugar

• salt and black pepper

• 20g fresh coriander

• 225g lighter halloumi, cut into 1cm slices

• 2 heads each red and white chicory

METHOD:

1. Start by making the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together the pomegranate seeds, walnuts, garlic, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, half the olive oil, half the sugar and some salt and pepper. Pick a few coriander leaves and set them aside to use as a garnish later, finely chop the remaining leaves and stems, and stir into the dressing. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary.

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and fry the halloumi slices for a minute on each side, until they're a nice golden-brown colour. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

3. Cut each chicory into quarters lengthways, so the stem holds the leaves together. Fry the chicory in two batches in the same pan as the halloumi, adding the remaining sugar and plenty of salt and pepper. Toss as you cook each batch for about a minute, just to colour a little on the outside. You may need to add a little bit of oil.

4. Arrange the warm halloumi and chicory on a serving plate and spoon over the dressing.

5. Chop the reserved coriander leaves and sprinkle on top.

NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving - based on 3)

471 kcal

11.8g carbs

37.9g fat (12.8g saturated)

21.9g protein

7.8g sugar

*Oddbox London are a fruit and vegetable delivery service who bring farm-fresh, delicious ‘odd’ & surplus fruit & veg straight to your door which would otherwise be thrown away. These babies aren't cosmetically "beautiful" enough to make it only supermarket shelves, but taste every bit as delicious as supermarket product. It is good value for money and extremely sustainable.