Chermoula halloumi peppers with couscous

I took inspiration from Ottolenghi's 'Jerusulam' for dinner tonight; as I had been disappointed by this Saturday's Guardian Weekend which held the promise of street food from him, but did not include a vegetarian option. I went back to the book and found his recipe for aubergine chermoula with bulgar. Hurrah! I get to use my preserved lemons. However, I did not have an aubergine or bulgar wheat, but rather romano peppers and couscous. I was also only cooking for two so have adapted the recipe accordingly and tweaked into my own recipe. Ok, I kind of just took the chermoula as inspiration and pretty much started again.


What is chermoula? It is a spicy north african paste or sauce which can be rubbed onto vegetables for roasting. It is perfect for barbeques on vegetables and grillable cheeses like halloumi!


What you will need
2 Romano peppers
1/2 a packet of halloumi
100g couscous
Fresh coriander
Fresh mint
1-2 table spoons pitted black olives, halved
1 table spoon flaked almonds, toasted
2 spring onions, chopped
A pinch of saffron
1 table spoon lemon juice
4 table spoons Greek yoghurt
Chermoula


Chermoula paste
2 garlic cloves
2 tea spoons ground cumin
2 tea spoons ground coriander
1 tea spoons chilli flakes
1 tea spoons sweet paprika
1 tea spoon freshly grated ginger
2 table spoons finely chopped preserved lemon
80ml olive oil


To make the chermoula, in a small bowl mix the garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli, paprika, preserved lemon, fresh ginger and the olive oil and set aside.

 

Cube the half of halloumi and place into the bowl of chermoula to marinate until ready to cook.

When ready to cook, cut the peppers in half lengthways and evenly stuff with the chermoula halloumi. Place the peppers in a roasting tray and roast in a preheated 200 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until the halloumi has browned and cooked through and and the peppers have softened.


Meanwhile, put the couscous and saffron in a large bowl and cover with boiling water.  Stir in the herbs, olives, almonds, onion, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper, taste and add more of whatever you fancy as necessary.

Serve the peppers with a dollop of yoghurt, sprinkle with chopped coriander and finish with a drizzle of oil.


Serve each of the halloumi stuffed peppers beside the couscous and a couple of spoonfuls of the yoghurt.