PLAN NO. 9

DAY 1: RECIPE

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Sheet-pan halloumi with chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, fennel, and olive-herb sauce

Yield: 4

Overview: Roast the halloumi and some veggies, and make a fresh sauce

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Ingredients

For the halloumi

• 1 ½ lb halloumi, sliced into ¼-inch slabs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the roasted chickpeas and tomatoes

• 30 oz (about 2 cans) chickpeas, well drained
• 1 ½ lbs cherry tomatoes, rinsed
• 1 bulb fennel, cut into ¼ inch wedges
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 fresno chili, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the olive-herb sauce

• 1 bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems only
• ½ bunch parsley, leaves and tender stems only
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup green olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 preserved lemons, minced (see tip)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• juice of 1 lemon

To serve

• picked cilantro and/or parsley leaves
• pickled red onions, store-bought or homemade (recipe below)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. 400°F with the fan on.
2. Roast the veggies and halloumi. On a parchment-lined sheet pan, toss the chickpeas, tomatoes, fennel, garlic, and chili with the olive oil, along with a good sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Clear space on the sheet pan for the halloumi. Toss the halloumi with the olive oil and arrange in the cleared space. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Make the olive-herb sauce. Mince the cilantro and parsley. Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes, then taste for seasoning and adjust. The preserved lemon and olives are already salty, so be careful with the salt. They will account for most of the seasoning of the sauce.
4. Plate. Heap a big spoonful of the chickpea-tomato mixture on a plate. Top with 2 slabs of halloumi and a generous spoonful of the sauce. Garnish with pickled red onions and picked herbs.

Tip

Preserved lemons are regular lemons that have been packed in salt (salt + time). The salt softens the rind and preserves the lemon. Used primarily in North African and Middle Eastern cuisine, preserved lemons lend a salty, citrusy punch to sauces, salads, and braised meats. Note that you only use the rind. To prepare, remove the flesh of the lemon and mince the rind. For 1 preserved lemon, you can sub the zest of 1 fresh lemon and a pinch of salt, but it won’t have quite the same umami presence.

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DAY 2: LEFTOVERS

Spicy chickpea and tomato pasta with burrata

Overview: Boil the pasta, make a quick sauce, finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, and top with cheese

Boil 1 lb of your favorite pasta in salted water. While the pasta is cooking, crush 2 garlic cloves and saute in olive oil with a big pinch of chili flake, just until the garlic turns light brown (no more than a minute). Add your leftover chickpea-tomato mixture, along with a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm while you wait for your pasta to finish cooking. When the pasta is almost al dente (about 1 minute before the shortest recommended cooking time on the box), drain the pasta and reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce, along with a cup of pasta water. Continue cooking until the pasta is al dente and the sauce thickens enough to coat the pasta nicely. Add more pasta water if needed.

Top with burrata (fresh mozzarella or shaved parmesan would also be delicious). Garnish with parsley leaves or any leftover olive-herb sauce.

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EXTRA RECIPES

It’s always nice to have a jar of pickled red onions in the fridge. Try adding them to your sandwiches, tacos, and salads.

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