Creamy pesto mushrooms and halloumi on toast
This mushrooms on toast recipe was actually inspired by a lovely reader (hi Helen!) who emailed me recently to tell me about a dish she’d discovered, and it sounded so good I had to give it a go myself. Creamy pesto mushrooms and halloumi (or haloumi), served on toast like all good British things are (cheese, beans, even spaghetti).
Pesto – good.
Mushrooms – gooood.
Halloumi – goooooood.
What’s not to love?
As an added bonus, it couldn’t be simpler to make – everything’s cooked up in one pan. You can even use shop-bought pesto if you’d like to make it extra quick, though I made my own simple pesto mixture using fresh basil and nuts. I used pistachios, purely because the shop was out of pine nuts, but to be honest any nut works just fine. I also threw a few pumpkin seeds on top for an extra bit of crunch – I’ve been really getting into nuts and seeds lately (wow, I need a hobby).
I cooked my mushrooms in rapeseed oil. Apparently, rapeseed is the third most important crop grown in the UK, which I can believe – in the spring you can’t leave the house without seeing dozens of enormous, bright yellow fields (you can’t where I live, anyway). They’re absolutely gorgeous – one of my favourite springtime sights, alongside baby lambs and daffodils!
Rapeseed oil is always my go-to oil for cooking (whenever I just say ‘oil’ in a recipe, I’ve used rapeseed oil), but to be honest I’ve never given too much thought to its nutrition. I just use it because it’s got a light, fairly neutral flavour, and it has a high smoke point, meaning it’s really versatile and can be used for frying, roasting, etc.
But as it turns out, rapeseed oil contains less saturated fat than all other commonly used cooking oils, and is instead high in unsaturated fats. Replacing saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats contributes to the maintenance of normal cholesterol levels.
You can find out plenty more over on the Rapeseed Oil Benefits site, including lots of yummy recipes. They’re all pretty healthy, but look surprisingly delicious – healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring!
Do you use rapeseed oil in your cooking?
Creamy Pesto Mushrooms and Halloumi on Toast
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Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp nuts (I used pistachios, but pine nuts work well too)
- Small handful fresh basil
- 150 g halloumi cheese, diced (~ 1 cup when diced)
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- ~ 8 medium chestnut mushrooms, diced
- 1 tbsp creme fraiche
- Black pepper
- 2 slices wholemeal toast
- To serve: pumpkin seeds or more pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Add the nuts and basil to a mini food processor, and blitz until well chopped.
- Cook the diced halloumi in a dry frying pan for a few minutes on each side, over a medium heat. At first the halloumi will release some liquid, and once that has cooked off, it will become golden brown. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
- Heat the rapeseed oil in the same frying pan, and add the diced mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Turn the heat down low and return the halloumi to the pan, along with the basil mixture and the creme fraiche. Season generously with black pepper, and mix well until the creme fraiche has melted into the mushrooms.
- Serve warm on wholemeal toast, topped with pumpkin seeds or extra pine nuts if desired.
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.
Love halloumi? You’ll adore my indulgent beer battered halloumi (rapeseed oil is great for deep frying too!)
Halloumi and mushrooms are such a delicious combo. I usually have them together in a burger, but I am going to have to try this.
Yum yum yum! This looks like something that would go down extremely well in this house!
I hadn’t realised about rapeseed oil’s great nutritional profile before – thanks for the info :-)
I recently discovered how good halloumi is! Going to try this as it looks amazing xx
It’s my favourite! I’m so glad more and more people are discovering it – so good :)
Dear Becca, I’m so glad to find you; not a vegetarian (January is an exception) but the blogs’ name has attracted me :-) This post is great and I certainly will come back for more. Thank you so much and have a pleasant day !
Haha well I’m glad you liked the sound of the silly pun :P Thanks!
i don’t usually eat mushrooms but the way you plate it makes me want to make one.Thanks for sharing.
Praise indeed, thanks James!
Oh my! All my favourite food in one meal!
Sounds good!
I use rapeseed oil too…often just labelled ‘vegetable oil’ ….but pretty though the fields are, it’s a nightmare if a public footpath goes through the crop!
My all-time favourite halloumi recipe is just cubes of halloumi and cherry tomatoes threaded on skewers, brushed with a bit of pesto and grilled…..drool!
Why is it a nightmare, do you end up with yellow legs? ;)
Higher than legs! And streaming eyes…….yeuch :-(((
Ugh hayfever is the worst!
Thanks for remembering me. I will try this at the weekend. Helen x
pesto with macadamia nuts is very good, too. We had so much basil in the garden last year, I feel like all I was doing was making pesto ?. Kind if glad when it finished a couple weeks back. I will have to remember this recipe for I I’m next growing the stuff.
I actually don’t think I’ve ever had macadamia nuts! Will have to get some of those next time I go shopping. I tried growing my own basil but it failed miserably – I’ve had much more success with parsley though, which I just leave to do its own thing and it miraculously survives!
Not had macadamia nuts ? that just doesn’t sound right. They are such a yummy nut.
Lucky our basil grows great, not as good as the dill though. That got taller than I am and I had no idea what to do with it all ?
Haha! I’ve never tried growing dill. I tend to kill most things though (not sure how I’ve managed to keep my dog alive for 2 years haha)
I’m drooling! I love ALL these ingredients! I’ll definitely be trying this :)
It’s hard to go wrong with halloumi! ;)