Asparagus and halloumi pasta with an unbelievably delicious smoky tomato pesto, made with Greek yogurt so it's extra creamy!
Hellllooo, halloumi. Bringer of happiness, upgrader of barbecues, squeaker of teeth. I use halloumi all the time, but I realised the other day* that 99% of the time, I serve my halloumi with bread. Halloumi burgers, halloumi pittas, halloumi bruschetta... all good stuff, but today I thought I'd make something different - halloumi pasta! Cheese and pasta are a match made in heaven, but somehow I've always overlooked halloumi as a pasta accompaniment. Never again. It's brilliant.
*when I'm alone, my mind often wanders to thoughts of cheese.
Halloumi pasta
Did you know that there are now five times as many online searches for 'halloumi' than there were 5 years ago? I'm not even sure I'd heard of the stuff five years ago (though I always knew there was something missing from my life...), and now it's one of my favourite ingredients to cook with. To be honest quite a large chunk of those online searches were probably made by me, but hopefully you guys have become as enamoured with the stuff as I have, and hopefully you'll enjoy this asparagus and halloumi pasta.
I started with some pretty little twisty pasta that I found at Waitrose (if you want to try it, I believe it's called 'strozzapreti', which is impossible to say in anything other than an extremely exaggerated Italian accent). Waitrose have very much got behind the recent halloumi trend, with a whole section of their site dedicated to halloumi recipes (I will definitely be trying roasted halloumi very soon!).
Smoky tomato pesto
Then I just tossed the lovely Waitrose pasta and the squidgy halloumi together with some veggies and the beautiful smoky tomato pesto, which is super easy to make. It starts life as a simple sun-dried tomato pesto, but instead of adding olive oil, I used Greek yogurt to make it nice and creamy (does it still count as pesto? meh), and also some smoked paprika, which adds an incredible flavour. The crispy halloumi goes so, so amazingly well with the smoky sauce. I'm kicking myself for not putting paprika in pesto sooner.
Are you as big a lover of halloumi as I am? If you've never tried it before, check out my guide to cooking halloumi perfectly, and then try out my halloumi pasta - or one of the other lovely halloumi recipes on the Waitrose site!
Asparagus and Halloumi Pasta with Smoky Tomato Pesto
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 small clove garlic
- Small bunch fresh herbs (I used basil and parsley)
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 5 pieces sun-dried tomato
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 125 g halloumi, diced (~ 1 cup diced)
- 6 spears asparagus
- 1 small courgette (zucchini)
- 300 g fresh pasta (~ 3 cups)
- Fresh rocket (arugula), optional, to serve
Instructions
- To make the smoky tomato pesto, add the small clove of garlic to a mini food processor with the fresh herbs and pine nuts. Blitz until finely chopped. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and smoked paprika, and blitz again. Finally, add the Greek yogurt and plenty of salt and pepper, and blitz to combine.
- Add the diced halloumi to a dry frying pan, and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, until the underside is crispy and golden brown. Turn the halloumi pieces over, and repeat with the other side.
- While the halloumi is cooking, cut the asparagus into 2 inch pieces, and shave ribbons from the courgette using a vegetable peeler. When the halloumi is fairly crispy, add the vegetables to the frying pan, and cook for a few minutes, tossing regularly, until the vegetables are tender.
- Boil the fresh pasta according to the instructions on the packet (usually around 3-8 minutes), until cooked al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid.
- Add the smoky tomato pesto and the cooked vegetables and halloumi to the pasta, and mix well. You may wish to add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to loosen up the sauce a little. Cook over a low heat for a couple of minutes, until warm. Serve garnished with some fresh rocket (arugula) if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for ⅓ of the recipe.
Here's my foolproof method for cooking halloumi perfectly, giving a crispy outside and a gooey middle:
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says
Now that looks lush - fab combo!
Sophie says
I made this tonight it was delicious!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback, really glad you liked it :D
Jacqueline Meldrum says
We've done it again! I've just paired Halloumi with courgette too. Lovely stuff and I am drooling over this pasta even though it's breakfast time. Stumbled, yummed, pinned & tweeted.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Halloumi and courgette go so well together! The salty cheese is just what courgette needs, since it doesn't have a huge flavour on its own :)
Kavey says
I looooooooooooooooove halloumi - the squeaky cheese! It's so good grilled and barbequed and even deep fried!!!!!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Ooooh yes deep fried in batter! Sooo good. But deep fried cheese isn't something I allow myself to eat too often haha
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says
I've never even heard of halloumi.. it sounds delicious!! Any kind of hot flavorful cheese is my jam. This looks amazing!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
It really is delicious, you should keep your eyes peeled for it! It's salty and squeaky and just soo good :)
Raia says
I have no idea what halloumi is. haha! But I'm with you, when I'm alone I think of cheese... and chocolate. ;) Your pasta sure looks tempting!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
If you've never had halloumi you have to find some and give it a try! It's a fairly solid, salty cheese which you can grill or fry, and it gets nice and crispy and soft without melting. It's become really popular here in the UK in the past few years - sorry, I should have explained what it was for people in other countries!
Amy | The Cook Report says
There are so many of my favourite foods in this one pasta dish, I have to try it ASAP!
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says
Yes! Halloumi is one of my very favorites! I moved recently and finally found a local source and I've been chowing down on it like crazy. This sounds delicious!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I don't blame you, it's one of my favourites too :)
Tamara says
I can't believe this foodie still hasn't tried halloumi! Your combination of flavors is lovely, and I bet that smoked paprika makes the pesto sing! Pinning for later :-)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Whaaat! You must try it, it's amazing. So lovely and chewy and crispy on the edges!
Carrie Harvey says
I love the sound of this! I've added smoked paprika to tomato sauces in things with cheese in them before and that's a match made in heaven....but never thought of halloumi!
Re the sauce: do you use dried sundried tommies or oil-packed ones?
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I used the oil-packed ones and drained them briefly on some paper before using them. But I'm sure either kind would work :)