Christmas recipes: Halloumi and crispy courgette stack with honey whiskey drizzle

The eighth of my Twelve Little Dishes of Christmas is a salty halloumi cheese and crispy courgette stack with a sweet honey whiskey drizzle.

The salty flavour of halloumi cries out for something sweet to serve alongside and this honey whiskey drizzle is a perfect partner.

It’s up to you how you plate this dish, you can simply lay the slices on a plate, or stack to resemble a Christmas tree, but the magic is in the pairing of salty and sweet.

225g halloumi cheese

1 large courgette, sliced into ½ cm disks

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

For the honey whiskey drizzle

200ml Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

2 generous tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Juice of one lemon

Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

For the garnishes

1 tablespoon finely chopped cranberries

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon black sesame seeds

Handful of snipped cress

Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Put the sliced courgette in a bowl with the oil, oregano, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread the courgette slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, combine all the drizzle ingredients in a small saucepan on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, immediately turn the heat down to low and simmer for about ten minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half and is the consistency of runny honey.

While the drizzle is reducing, carefully slice the halloumi into ½ cm slices and cut out ever decreasing shapes (circles, stars, squares, whatever cutters you have) which when stacked will form a rough cone shape. Fry these shapes in a large non-stick frying pan with a little bit of oil, turning every now and then, until golden brown.

Divide the halloumi and crispy courgettes between two plates and stack to resemble Christmas trees, using larger slices at the bottom and smaller slices at the top. Scatter some cress around the base of the stacks. Pour the warm honey whiskey drizzle over the top of the stacks and scatter over the cranberries, parsley, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds. Serve immediately while all the ingredients are still warm.

Find more of Beverley's recipes here. Follow her on Instagram @thelittlechelseakitchen for more inspiration