Georgina Hayden's delicious Greek feast
Georgina Hayden is back with a Greek feast - she's drawing on her Cypriot roots to whip up two simple dishes that sing of the Mediterranean. She's making whole grilled halloumi with apricots and spiced spring lamb chops with hummus, delicious but so quick to put together making them perfect for any day of the week.
Whole Grilled Halloumi With Apricots
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
1 x 250g piece of halloumi Olive oil 4 apricots, stone removed and cut into quarters 2 tbsp honey A few sprigs of oregano or thyme
Method
1. Preheat the grill to medium high.
2. Carefully score the top of your halloumi in a criss-cross pattern - don’t cut too deep; you want to keep it intact. Rub the cheese with olive oil, making sure it is in between the cuts as well.
3. Place the halloumi in a snug, ideally metal, dish and nestle around the apricots - drizzle them with some more olive oil. Pop under the grill (not too close) and grill for 8-10 minutes, so that the fruit starts to caramelise and the halloumi is tender and charred on the top (check a few minutes in and adjust the grill temperature or height of the rack accordingly).
4. When the halloumi is ready, drizzle with honey and scatter over the oregano or thyme. Serve immediately.
Spice Lamb Chops with Houmous
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the marinade:8 lamb chops2 garlic cloves, crushed1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp ground corianderOlive oil Juice of 1 lemon
For the houmous:1 x 400g jar/tin of chickpeas, drained, reserve the liquid 3 tbsp tahiniJuice of ½ a lemon1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped 2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced Juice of 1 lemon 2 green chillies, halved, deseeded and finely slicedA few sprigs of mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped 30g pistachios or almonds, finely choppedSea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Place the lamb chops in a mixing bowl along with the crushed garlic. Season well and add the ground cumin and coriander. Pour in enough oil to coat, and squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. Mix with your hands to coat the lamb, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for as long as you can, bringing it out 20 minutes before you wish to cook.
2. To make the houmous, add the chickpeas to a food processor with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and 3 tbsp of the reserved chickpea liquid. Blitz until incredibly smooth, adding more of the chickpea liquid as needed, to create a mousse-like texture. Season to taste and spoon out onto a serving plate.
3. Place the shallots in a small bowl with the juice of a lemon and a good pinch of salt. Toss together, along with the sliced chilli.
4. Place a griddle pan on a high heat and get it very hot. Grill the lamb chops in batches for 4 minutes on each side, to give you just-blushing lamb (cook for more or less time according to preference). Finish by searing on the fatty edge to crisp up. Rest the cooked chops in a very low oven while the others cook.
5. Place the grilled lamb onto the houmous. Toss the chopped mint through the shallot mixture and scatter over the lamb. Sprinkle over the nuts and serve.