GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH HALLOUMI, MANDARIN DRESSING & HONEYED ALMONDS

ASPARAGUS IS SIMPLY THE BEST VEGETABLE IN THE WORLD

SERVES: 6 TIME: 35 minutes

To me, spring means asparagus. It's simply the best vegetable in the world. Even better, this dish includes another of my favourite foods: halloumi.

It's one of those squeaky cheeses that becomes soft and flavorsome after cooking. When sourcing halloumi, look for a New Zealand-made cheese. If you're growing your own asparagus, I recommend using the money saved to splurge a bit on the cheese. I love the stuff from Wellington artisan Zany Zeus – it has a higher price point but it's one of the more authentic options available.

INGREDIENTS

250g halloumi

30-40 spears (about 6 spears per person) ½ cup roasted whole almonds juice of 3 mandarins

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp avocado oil

2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp honey microgreens/edible flowers to garnish

METHOD

1

Preheat the oven to 180°C. 2

Smash the almonds roughly into large chunks. Place these on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the honey. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the honey begins to caramelise. 3

Juice the mandarins and pour into a small saucepan. Cook on a medium heat and reduce until you have about

4 tbsp of juice. Whisk in the Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp of canola oil, and the avocado oil. Season the dressing to taste, then set aside. 4

Break the bases off the asparagus spears – they should naturally snap where the woody bit ends and the edible bit begins – and discard. Blanch the spears in lightly salted boiling water for a couple of minutes, then refresh in iced water. 5 Brush the asparagus with a little canola oil, season with salt and pepper, and chargrill on the barbecue or in a grill frying pan.

6

Slice the halloumi into 5mm-wide strips. Toss in the seasoned flour, then pan-fry in canola oil. 7 Arrange the asparagus and halloumi on serving plates. Garnish with the almonds, greens, and flowers, and drizzle with a little dressing.