Tabouleh & Haloumi

Birthday Favourites

Muffins, croissants, bread, freshly squeezed orange juice and a surprise in a box. Pretty breakfast tables just make me so happy...

The surprise: a sticky blueberry pastry!

A Mediterranean dinner: Falafel, Hummus and wraps from Picadilly. I made some Tabouleh and my dad made Haloumi! (click 'Read More' for the recipes)

Hazelnut Tabouleh 
From Cuisine Actuelle

Note: I used walnuts instead of hazelnuts and I omitted the olives and cucumber. Our bulgur was also really hard and not cooked after being soaked, so we soaked it with some hot water too to cook it better. Organic grains and pulses sometimes take longer to cook.

200g fine bulgur
1/2  cucumber, washed
4 small tomatoes, washed
1 lemon
1 onion
1 bunch of mint leaves, washed
1 bunch of flat parsley, washed
100g hazelnuts
5 tablespoons olive oil
50g green olives
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Put the bulgur in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Let it soak for 15 minutes.
Roughly chop the hazelnuts and fry them on a pan without any oil.
Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl.

Dice the cucumber and the tomatoes. Peel the onion and remove 2 layers. Finely chop the rest of the onion. Chop the mint leaves and the parsley.

Taste the bulgur to see if it's cooked (see Note)
Put the bulgur in a fine sieve and press it with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the water. 
Pour the bulgur into  a salad spinner (or a regular bowl if you don't have one).
Toss it with the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix the other ingredients in well and chill is in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I chilled mine for less time and it was fine). 
You can drizzle a bit of olive oil on top before serving.

Haloumi
From Cuisine Actuelle

Note: My dad used zucchini instead of aubergine. Haloumi is a cheese originating from Cyprus and made from a mix of goat's and sheep's milk. It doesn't have much flavour but is predominantly grilled or fried. We used a good, firm cottage cheese instead and it worked out great. We didn't have sun-dried tomatoes at the time, so we left that out. 

2 aubergines
400g haloumi
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tomatoes, washed
2 sprigs rosemary
180g dried tomatoes in oil
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Rince, dry and cut them lengthwise in thin slices. Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 finely minced clove of garlic, the salt and the pepper.
Coat the aubergine in the mix and spread the slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Cook them in the oven for about 25 minutes at 180 C, until the slices are tender.
Chop the onion and the remaining garlic. Cook them in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until they turn golden, about 5 minutes. 
Dice the fresh tomatoes, chop the dried tomatoes and add them in.
Add the leaves of a sprig of rosemary, some salt and pepper.
Cut the haloumi in rectangular slices and coat them in some olive oil. Cook them under a grill for about 5 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
Top the haloumi with some  of the tomato mixture and wrap them in a slice of aubergine. Close them with toothpicks and serve fresh or warmed up for a few minutes in the oven.