Jamie’s halloumi & chickpea stew

“I’ve cut my hand Corrie!” Jamie screamed down the phone.
“Oh no! On what?”
“I slipped and fell on some glass”
“Oh my god! Are you okay?”
“Yeah… But I don’t think I’ll be able to do any washing up for a while…”
“Well it better be a bloody big cut!”
And it was. In fact it was super gross, poor Jamie. I actually didn’t mind doing the washing up for a while but I did miss his cooking, so I thought it would be nice to make one of his recipes, boy was I wrong! Not because his recipes aren’t delicious, but because my mad boyfriend is the worst backseat chef ever.
“Oh, you chop onions like that? Interesting”… “Don’t crush the garlic chop it!”… “Why are you using the big ring on the cooker, use that one”… “Oh just let me stir it, you’re doing it wrong”… “How many tablespoons of yogurt did you put in?… Corrie?… Corrie?… Corrie…”
“I PUT TWO FUCKING TABLESPOONS OF YOGURT IN JAMIE! TWO! NOT ONE, TWO! ALRIGHT?!” I scream.
“… You were only supposed to put in one… I’ll leave you to it.”

Halloumi & chickpea stew
Serves 2 / Hands on time 35 mins / Total time 35 mins / V Gf 
1 tsp olive oil
225g vegetarian halloumi, cut into chunks
1 red onion, finely chopped
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1 knob ginger, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbs tomato puree
250g passata
1 tsp brown sugar
1 can of chickpeas
4 handfuls of spinach
2 tbs of greek yogurt + extra for garnish
Large handful parsley, chopped
Bread to serve (optional)

Method
1. In a large pot over a medium heat, cook the onion, cherry tomatoes and roughly a quarter of the halloumi chunks in the oil for 15 mins, stirring occasionally – adding a dash of water if needed.
2. Mix in the chopped garlic, red pepper, fresh ginger, cumin, smoked paprika, chilli flakes and a dash of water to loosen the spices a bit. Cook for a further 5 mins.
3. Add the tomato puree, passata, sugar, chickpeas and the rest of the halloumi chunks. Give it a good stir and gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Mix in 2 handfuls of spinach. Once wilted, add the other 2 handfuls and stir in the yogurt. Finally, sprinkle over the chopped parsley and season with black pepper (halloumi is very salty so you don’t need to add extra salt). Serve immediately topped with yogurt and bread for dipping.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.