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Love it or hate it, halloumi is great ingredient to cook on a BBQ. It can sometimes be quite salty, so to balance this, we have used Tomato and Balsamic Ketchup (our other ketchups would work too) as a marinade and glaze, which helps give the halloumi a charred sticky exterior and a sweet tangy flavour. It is chopped up and made into lettuce wraps, which make a great starter at a BBQ, and you can adapt the fillings based on what you have to hand.
2 x 200g packs halloumi
60g / 4 tbsp Tomato & Balsamic Ketchup
45ml 3 tbsp Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Generous amount ground black pepper
Pinch chilli flakes
¼ tsp dried oregano
100g Venus Black Rice (could also use wild rice, or similar nutty grain)
350ml water
600g courgettes
200g cherry tomatoes
½ tsp black onion seeds
Small bunch mint, leaves finely chopped
2 iceberg lettuces
75g toasted pine nuts
Take the halloumi from the packaging and rinse under cold water to remove the salty brine, then dry with kitchen paper. Break into 2 halves using the natural fold, then cut into chunky strips. Mix the ketchup, black pepper, oregano and chilli flakes with 1 tbsp olive oil and mix, then use this to coat the halloumi in a flat dish or wrapped in a sandwich bag. If you have any left over, keep for reglazing later.
Heat an oven to 200C. Place the rice in a small saucepan and cover with 350ml water. Season with salt then bring up to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and cover, then leave to gently cook till all the water has been absorbed and the rice is softened, around 40 minutes. Keep the lid on so that the rice is still warm when served.
Whilst the rice is cooking, cut the courgettes in half and season all over with salt. Leave for 10 minutes to draw out some of the water, then dry with a paper towel and rub all over with a little olive oil. Roast on a baking tray for 20-25 minutes, turning, once, so that the outsides begin to blacken, and the insides are soft (you could also do this on a BBQ). Remove, allow to cool, then roughly chop and mix in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil. Taste, then add more salt if needed.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into 1/6ths and place in sieve to allow some of the juice to drain off. Add to a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, then add the onion seeds, mint, pine nuts and 1 tbsp olive oil.
Carefully separate out the layers of the lettuce, so that you have pieces that will make good wraps. If some break, or are too flimsy, put them aside to use in another salad.
A charcoal or gas BBQ is ideal for cooking the halloumi, but you could also cook it on a griddle pan. Cook on a hot BBQ, so that the outsides begin to char, and the insides soften. The ketchup can make the cheese stick, so its best to have a fish slice or spatula on had to help turn them. Keep turning till all sides are charred and sticky. Finish them with any remaining marinade, then once off the BBQ chop into smaller pieces.
Whilst the halloumi is cooking, make up the lettuce wraps by filling with some of the rice, then the courgettes. Next add the halloumi, followed by the tomato salsa. Wrap up and eat immediately.