Josie
The writer, cook and photographer behind Your Ultimate Menu
Ingredients
Roast Veggies
- 800 g red kumara (1lb 12oz)
- 1/2 small cauliflower
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 250 g button mushrooms (8.8oz)
- 1 large capsicum (any colour)
- 1 large red onion
- 400 g can cannellini beans (14oz)
To Serve
- 200 g haloumi (7oz)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 120 g baby spinach (4.2oz)
- 100 g basil pesto (3.5oz)
Instructions
1. Preheat Oven
Preheat oven to 200ºC (390ºF) fan bake and line two oven trays with baking paper.
2. Prepare Roast Veggies
Peel kumara and cut into 2cm / 0.8in pieces. Cut cauliflower into florets. Place on one of the prepared trays, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Arrange in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven.
3. Cut other ingredients
Meanwhile, cut mushrooms in half, cut capsicum into pieces and slice onion into wedges. Rinse beans and drain well. Place on the second oven tray, drizzle with remaining tablespoon of oil and teaspoon of garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper, toss to combine and arrange in a single layer.
4. Roasting time
Move tray of kumara to a lower level in the oven and place tray with other veggies above. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until veggies are golden and crisp around the edges.
5. Prepare serving ingredients
When veggies have 10 minutes left to cook, slice haloumi into strips. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium. Fry haloumi for 1-2 minutes each side, until golden brown. Remove from heat. Cut haloumi strips into thirds.
6. Serving time
Place roast veggies, spinach and pesto in an extra-large salad bowl. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir through haloumi and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Wine Match: Try a Pinot Gris or a Riesling.
- Gluten-Free Option: Check the pesto is gluten-free, otherwise this meal is naturally gluten-free.
- Ingredient Notes / Swaps: This is a super versatile meal – feel free to use up any veggies you have on hand. Haloumi can be added to the top tray of roast veggies 15 minutes before the end of cooking, if you don’t want to pan fry it. This is an easier, less dishes option but doesn’t give quite as tasty results! You can use feta instead of haloumi (reduce quantity to approximately 100g / 3.5oz, no need to cook it). The basil pesto could be swapped for sundried tomato pesto. A dollop of aioli on top of the meal is a nice addition!
- Made it Meaty: For a non-vegetarian option, try adding some pan-fried sliced chorizo.
- Storing and Reheating: For an easy option, store individual portions in containers in the fridge and reheat in the microwave. If you know you will have leftovers, keep roast veggies separate from serving ingredients. Pan fry roast veggies and haloumi with a little olive oil to warm up, then toss through spinach and pesto.
Did you know that haloumi is a great source of amino acids?
Amino acids are essential for our health and are used for important functions such as building muscle, hormones, neurotransmitters and overall growth and repair.
If you want to learn more about amino acids, please see our article What are Amino Acids and what is their role in keeping us healthy?
A bit more about the master chef behind this recipe…
Cooking, baking and creating recipes have always been Josie’s passions. She has a Bachelor of Food Technology and works as a freelance recipe developer, food stylist and photographer.
Josie launched her website, Your Ultimate Menu, as a way to help others solve the dreaded “what’s for dinner?” question. Each week she provides recipes for three easy meals together with an organised shopping list.
Her sister’s recent diagnosis with coeliac disease has inspired Josie to provide gluten-free options for all of her recipes.
Like this recipe? Check out Josie’s website for more cooking inspiration! https://www.yourultimatemenu.com/
