Ottolenghi’s braised halloumi with tomatoes and beans

Braised halloumi with tomatoes and beans from Ottolenghi Simple Too. Jonathan LovekinThis is either a simple speedy supper for two, with rice or bread, or part of a spread to serve more. It works really well with the green beans with miso and grapefruit, or any seasonal green veg. It’s also great as it is for a late breakfast, with a couple of fried eggs sitting on top.Ingredients350g cherrytomatoes (a mix ofcolours looks great),half cut in half and theremainder left whole400g x tin of blackeyedbeans (or butterbeans), drained5 garlic cloves, 4 thinlysliced, 1 crushed5–6 thyme sprigs,plus 1 tsp finelychopped leaves1 lemon, zest thinlyshaved to get 4 strips,the remainder finelygrated, 1 tbsp juice90ml olive oil250g halloumi, cut into6 slices1 tsp za’atarfine sea salt andblack pepperMethodStep 1Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional). Step 2Put all the tomatoes into a 26cm round (or similar) shallow ovenproof dish along with the beans, sliced garlic, thyme sprigs, lemon zest strips, lemon juice and 75ml olive oil. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix together and nestle the halloumi slices among the beans, making sure the cheese remains exposed. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the cheese and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the tomatoes have collapsed, released their juices and the halloumi is golden.Step 3Mix together the crushed garlic, thyme leaves, grated lemon zest and za’atar. Once the dish is out of the oven, swirl this through and serve.