Halloumi and roast vegetable couscous
Grilled halloumi that squeaks when you bite it, next to couscous loaded with charred capsicum, courgette and kumara. Lemon and herbs keep it tasting fresh rather than heavy.
Notable for: vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium
Ingredients
- 320 gcouscous
- 300 ghalloumi, 2 packs
- 2red capsicum, chunks
- 2courgette, thick half moons
- 500 gorange kumara, 2 cm cubes
- 200 gbrown onions, wedges
- 2lemons
- 10 gcrushed garlic
- 5 gdried mixed herbs
- 1stock cubes, in 400 ml water
- 10 mlolive oil
Method
Heat the oven to 220C and toss the kumara, capsicum, courgette and onion with two thirds of the oil, the herbs and salt.
Roast for 25 minutes, turning once, until the edges are properly charred rather than just soft.
Pour the boiling stock over the couscous, cover, and leave it for 8 minutes, then fork it through with a little of the remaining oil.
Pat the halloumi dry and slice it 1 cm thick, then pan-fry it in the last of the oil, 2 minutes a side, until deep gold.
Fold the hot roast vegetables through the couscous with the lemon juice and zest.
Serve the couscous topped with the halloumi straight from the pan, while the middle is still soft.
Fry the halloumi last
Halloumi firms up and turns rubbery within a couple of minutes of leaving the pan. Cook it right at the end and get it onto the plate straight away, while the inside is still soft.
Storage
Keeps three days in the fridge.
Reheat the halloumi separately in a hot pan rather than the microwave, or it turns tough.
Cost per serving is indicative, based on New Zealand supermarket prices as at September 2026. Batch prices your own week against your own store on the day. Nutrition figures, including calories, are estimates rather than label readings, so always check the packet if you have an allergy. "Notable for" reflects well-established qualities of the ingredients used, not a lab measurement of this exact dish.