Middle Eastern Mushroom & Halloumi Stew

This simple stew uses the delicious combination of mushrooms and halloumi, flavoured with ras-al-hanout; a blend of spices originating from North Africa

The mushsooms and halloumi take up the sweet spices to create this warming dish that works well on its own or as part of a mezze

Serve with couscous or steamed rice and a good helping of yogurt on the side

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large shallots peeled and cut into thick slices

3 cloves garlic – cut into large chunks

125g mushrooms – torn into large chunks

125g halloumi cheese - chunked

2 teaspoons ras-al-hanout

1 tablespoon lemon juice

75ml vegetable stock

Parsley

Method

Heat the oil over a high flame in a frying pan, then place the shallots cut side down into the pan. Fry until browned, then gently turn over and fry the other side until browned

Place the shallots into a heatproof dish with the garlic

Put the mushrooms into the hot frying pan and fry over a high heat, tossing from time to time, until browned. Add these to the dish with the shallots and garlic, sprinkle over the ras-al-hanout and pour the stock and lemon juice over

Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 200ᵒC for 20-25 minutes, then remove the foil and add the halloumi pieces. Return, uncovered, to the oven for a further 10 minutes before garnishing with chopped parsley