Halloumi and Onion Sweet Potatoes

It's January, so I suppose I better post something with stupid salad on it. We will be back to our regularly-scheduled sugar-bombs next week.

Having said that, in a bad mood as I root around for any nice Roses that are left in the box, these are actually a tasty treat. As I do love sweet potatoes, and I recently discovered the joys of baking them, I’m trying to get more creative.

I’ll be honest, I’ve had a lump of halloumi cheese in my fridge for AGES and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with it. My aunt is vegetarian and once fried me up some of this. It was delicious, a revelation, the food of the gods. I'd never cooked it myself, but I wanted to try something a bit different with it. And the lovely chewy texture is the perfect accompaniment to the soft sweetness of the spud. That description was TERRIBLE. But the final product is not!

These are incredibly simple to make, and a perfect side dish for other meals, I served mine with burgers, because I have an obsession with sweet potatoes and burgers for some reason.

Tandoori Halloumi and Cashew Rice

God, I love spice mixing

This was utterly delicious. I’m really impressed with the flavours of this meal.

So, my favourite restaurant is a little vegetarian restaurant that is near my flat. It serves the most amazing and creative food I have ever eaten, and I am constantly impressed with what their chef cooks up. The menu is also seasonal, so every two months there is a whole new list of yummy food to choose from. This has meant that I have had to go several times in that period to get a good try of all the delicious dishes on offer. NO REGRETS. I never regret food eaten, only food missed out on.

Aaanyway. Since sometimes I like to have a vegetarian dinner, I decided to have a go at home as well. I have a reliance on chicken, and it is refreshing to find simple and delicious alternatives. Enter halloumi. I love halloumi, and I’m not a cheese fan. It is spectacular, meaty and holds its shape perfectly throughout cooking. It isn’t overpowering on its own so it really takes the flavour of the tandoori marinade beautifully.

The rice is my new favourite thing. It is the only way I want to eat rice from now on. I have a love for rice, but being able to bulk it out a big with veggies is always great for reducing the old carbohydrate count.

One last thing, don’t fret about the number of spices in the halloumi mix. If you would prefer, you can buy pre-made pastes or powders with tandoori flavour. I just happen to have a weird predilection for collecting seeds and spices.