Green houmous with minted lemony peas and halloumi

Annie Rigg’s Eat More Veg cookbook is perfect for anyone looking for easy ways to include more vegetables in their diet. This green houmous with minty lemony peas and halloumi recipe is perfect for a light supper or lunch dish that can be made more substantial by serving some dolmades or falafel alongside.

You can use either edamame or broad beans in this vibrant green houmous, but if using broad beans, do double-pod them after cooking. This is a light supper or lunch dish that can be made more substantial by serving some dolmades or falafel alongside.

SERVES 4

175g peas (frozen is fine)
75g podded edamame or broad beans
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 rounded tbsp tahini
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp chopped mint, plus 1–2 tbsp shredded mint leaves
40g pistachios, roughly chopped
2 tsp za’atar
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves or pea shoots
4 baby cucumbers, quartered
250g block halloumi cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
toasted flat breads and pickled chillies, to serve

METHOD

Start by making the houmous. It can be prepared ahead and chilled until needed. Cook the peas in boiling salted water for 1–2 minutes; remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and cool quickly under cold running water.

Cook the edamame (or podded broad beans) in the same pan for 1 minute, drain and cool in the same way. Tip 75g peas and all of the beans into a food processor, add the drained chickpeas, chopped garlic, tahini and juice of ½ lemon. Add 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and blend until almost smooth. Add the chopped herbs and blend again. Taste and add more lemon juice and seasoning if needed. Spoon onto a serving platter, cover and chill until ready to serve.

Tip the remaining peas into a bowl, add the zest and juice of ½ lemon, the remaining 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and the shredded mint. Season and mix to combine.

Drizzle the houmous with a little more extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and za’atar, and spoon the minted peas alongside.

Arrange the leaves and quartered cucumbers on the platter.

Remove the halloumi from its packaging, pat dry on kitchen paper and cut into 12 slices. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the halloumi and fry quickly until golden brown on one side, then turn and cook the other side. You may need to cook the halloumi in batches depending on the size of your pan. Place the hot halloumi on the platter and serve with toasted flat breads and pickled green chillies.

Fine more delicious vegetable recipes in Eat More Veg by Annie Rigg, out now.

Photograph by Nassima Rothacker.