Halloumi with Vegetable Couscous, Baba Ghanoush and Hummus

Halloumi with Vegetable Couscous, Baba Ghanoush and Hummus

It's bloody freezing outside. There's snow on the ground, you've got to wrap up so warm it takes half an hour to leave the house, and once you're outside the wind is so icy that you just want to get back inside and hibernate until June. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of winter – dark nights, snow, warming food – it's just that by February I'm a little bored of root vegetables and my skin looking like it's been attacked with a cheese grater. That's why it's good to look ahead to warmer, sunnier times with this Mediterranean-inspired dish. There's a lot to it, so I'll split it into three:

Halloumi with Vegetable Couscous (serves 4)
Halloumi is a truly brilliant cheese, but reminds me of one of those girls you used to meet at student parties. You know, sober she would be deathly dull, would only talk about cats or the church and would be dressed ready for her Saturday job in a library. But a couple of cheeky glasses of cheap, value plonk later and she'd be dancing on the table, flinging her top round her head like there's no tomorrow and getting ready to stick her tongue down the gob of the next boy she'd see (unfortunately – or maybe fortunately – that boy would rarely be me). Halloumi is the sober girl when uncooked – conservative and boring – but introduce it to a hot grill pan, and by Christ it turns into a sexy, sozzled animal that is just screaming out to tickle your tonsils.

Ingredients:
200g couscous
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more brushing the halloumi
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cougette, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
4 plum tomatoes, diced
juice of 1 lemon
50g mint, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 x 250g packs halloumi, each sliced into 8 pieces
good pinch of smoked paprika

Method:
1. Add couscous to a pan of 500ml boiling water. Take off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes for the water to be absorbed. Pour into a large bowl and fluff up with a fork.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onions and courgette and lightly brown. Add the pepper and tomato then stir into the couscous. Add the lemon juice and mint and season.
3. Heat a grill pan and lightly brush the halloumi slices with olive oil. Sprinkle with paprika and cook for a couple of minutes each side.

Baba Ghanoush (serves 4)

Baba Ghanoush

I just love saying the name baba ghanoush, although it does sound a little like an evil African dictator from the 1970s. When roasting the aubergines, make sure the skin is well blackened – the secret to good baba ghanoush is the slightly charred flavour.

Ingredients:
2 large aubergines
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1.2 tsp ground cumin
80ml lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Prick the aubergines several times with a fork and blacken over an open flame for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish and cook for 40-45 minutes until charred and soft.
2. Allow to cool, then peel off the skin. Place the flesh in a food processor with the garlic, lemon, tahini, cumin, cayenne and olive oil, and blitz until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and stir in parsley.


Hummus (serves 4)

Hummus

Forget that stuff you buy in plastic tubs at the supermarket. Once you taste homemade hummus – and see how quick and easy it is to make – you'll never buy that thick, tasteless crap again. Good hummus should be bursting with garlic, lemon and sesame from the tahini, with a suggestion of background heat from the cayenne. It should also be a looser consistency as well – honestly, some of the mass-produced stuff you can buy can be used to grout the bathroom.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas in water
2 tbsp tahini
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
80ml lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
large pinch cayenne pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
paprika to garnish

Method:
1. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the liquid. Place in a food processor with the tahini, garlic, lemon, cumin, cayenne, salt and olive oil, and blitz until creamy and smooth.
2. With the motor running, add enough of the reserved chickpea liquid to form a smooth, creamy purée.
3. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle with paprika.