London's Burning (but dinner's OK)

Last week's beery adventures at the GBBF became hard work after a while, but it will go down as one of the greatest beer festivals of all time - I just needed a weekend to recover and take it easy on the alcohol front.

Well you would too if you'd spend four successive days relentlessly downing pint after pint, especially big Transatlantic fuckers like Clipper City Big DIPA (10%) and Amnesia Wonka Porter (?%).

But now it's back to normal - although a 'normal' where rioters are mindlessly setting fire to the capital so they can steal trainers - and I have to start cooking my own food rather than just picking up a tub of olives or a 20 inch bratwurst or a pork and stilton pie when I feel like it. 

Your starter for ten. Minutes.

The other day somebody pointed out that I rarely do recipes for starters, so to shut them the fuck up, here's a starter. Nah nah na-nah nah. You're wrong, WRONG I say. Go and loot Bejams or something, Sonny Jim. And relax...




What can I say about it? Well, it's quick, simple and packed full of flavour. The saltiness of the haloumi contrasts with the natural sweetness of the tomatoes to create a perfect light Summer starter.

Enjoy.

Pan-fried Haloumi with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients - per serving

Halloumi cheese, two or three slices
Cherry Tomatoes on the vine, a few
Herbes de Provence
Black pepper

Olive oil

Method

Place the 'vines' of tomatoes on a baking tray, sprinkling a little black pepper and a pinch of herbs over them, before drizzling with a little olive oil.

Whack these into an oven at about 200 degrees until they just start to burst or split, which will take around ten minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly coat a frying pan with oil and when it's very hot, whack on your haloumi slices, cooking for maybe two-three minutes per side, until they are mostly brown with a little charring.

And that's it! Whack a couple of slices of the rubbery cheese on a plate with your tomatoes, and you've got a tasty first course.