- 1 red onion
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 courgettes
- 2 garlic cloves
- A handful of flat leaf parsley
- 2 x 400g tins of butter beans
- 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Spanish seasoning
- 225g halloumi
- 4 plain naan breads
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- A pinch of sugar (optional)
- 1.
Peel the red onion and finely chop it. Warm a deep frying pan on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil and the onion. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pop a lid on the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins till the onion starts to look glossy.
- 2.
While the onion cooks, halve the pepper. Scoop out the seeds and white pith, and roughly chop the pepper. Trim the courgettes. Halve them lengthways and slice them into 1cm-thick half-moons. When the onion starts to look glossy, add the pepper and courgettes. Season with a pinch more salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 5 mins till the veg start to soften and pick up a little colour.
- 3.
While the veg fry, peel and grate or crush the garlic. Finely chop the parsley stalks, keeping the leaves for later. Drain the butter beans.
- 4.
Stir the garlic and parsley stalks into the veg. Add the Spanish seasoning. Cook, stirring, for 1 min.
- 5.
Tip the butter beans into the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes. Stir well to mix. Simmer together for 4-5 mins to warm everything through, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat your grill to high. Coarsely grate the halloumi.
- 6.
Taste the courgette sauce and add a pinch more salt and a pepper, or a pinch of sugar, if you think it needs it. If your frying pan is ovenproof, scatter the halloumi over the courgette mixture. If not, transfer the courgette mix to an ovenproof dish and top with the halloumi. Slide the gratin under the grill and cook for 5-8 mins till the halloumi is melted and golden.
- 7.
Pop the naan breads on a baking tray and sprinkle with a little water.
- 8.
When the gratin is golden, take it out from the grill and let it cool for a few mins. Slide the naan breads under the grill and cook for 2 mins, turning after 1 min. Serve the halloumi, tomato & courgette gratin with the naan breads.
- Tip
Love Your Leftovers:
An leftover gratin will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can be eaten cold or reheated in the oven, with foil covering the top to prevent the halloumi burning, or warmed through in the microwave. If reheating, please make sure it is piping hot all the way through. - Tip
Perfect Seasoning:
How much salt and pepper you use in your cooking is entirely up to you. If you’re adding salt or pepper, it helps to add a little at every stage of cooking, rather than seasoning at the end. Using a little as you cook means you typically add less salt and pepper than you would if you added it all at the end. When you do add extra salt and pepper at the end, stir it in and let the sauce sit for at least 30 secs before tasting again – this gives the seasoning time to mingle with the other flavours. Tomato-based sauces often also benefit from a small pinch of sugar, which can help mellow the tomatoes acidity.