50 mins
Super easy
serves 4
About the recipe
Don't be tempted to take the mushrooms out of the oven too soon – leave them to get beautifully dark and gnarly at the edges for bonus flavour.
Ingredients
8 portobello mushrooms
olive oil
1 lemon
300g wholewheat couscous
3 sprigs of fresh mint
2 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons baby capers
2 x 400g tins of quality cherry tomatoes
80g halloumi cheese
40g shelled unsalted pistachios
Top Tip
FLAVOUR BOOST
Pop a cinnamon stick into the tray with the cherry tomatoes to add beautiful fragrance and sweetness to your sauce. Or, throw in a few anchovies for subtle salty-savouriness. And if you like a bit of heat, scatter some finely chopped fresh red chilli into the mix.
EASY SWAPS
If you're out of pistachios, almonds, smoked almonds or hazelnuts are totally delicious used here, too.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
- Peel 8 portobello mushrooms and place cap-side up in a 25cm x 35cm sturdy roasting tray.
- Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper, then bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
- Meanwhile, finely grate the zest of ½ a lemon into a large bowl, add 300g of wholewheat couscous, 1 sprig of fresh mint and a pinch of pepper. Pour in just enough boiling kettle water to cover, pop a plate on top and leave to fluff up.
- Peel and finely slice 2 cloves of garlic, then pick and finely chop the leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary.
- When the time’s up, remove the tray from the oven and transfer the mushrooms to a plate.
- Place the roasting tray on the hob over a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the 2 tablespoons of baby capers and 2 x 400g tins of cherry tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
- Arrange the mushrooms snugly in the sauce, tear over 80g of halloumi and scatter over 40g of shelled unsalted pistachios, then return to the oven at 200°C/400°F/gas 6 for 15 minutes, or until gnarly at the edges.
- Fork up the couscous, squeeze over the juice from the zested lemon and toss together, discarding the mint. Season to taste.
- Serve the mushrooms and sauce on top of the couscous, then pick and tear over the remaining 2 sprigs of fresh mint.
Tags
