Grilled Asparagus with Halloumi Mandarin Dressing and Honeyed Almonds

Ingredients

  • 250g halloumi
  • 2 bunches asparagus
  • 2 courgettes
  • ½ cup roasted whole almonds
  • Juice of 3 mandarins
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 2 Tbsp plain flour
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • Micro greens/edible flowers to garnish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180*C.

Smash the almonds roughly into large chunks. Place these in a baking tray and drizzle with honey. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the honey begins to caramelise.

Put the juice from the mandarins in a small saucepan and reduce/simmer over a medium heat until you have about 4Tbsp of juice remaining. Whisk in the Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp cooking oil and the avocado oil. Season the dressing to taste.

Break the bases off the asparagus spears and discard. Blanch the spears in some lightly salted boiling water (plunge into boiling water for a short time), then refresh in iced water straight away.

Thinly slice the courgettes lengthways, then brush the asparagus and the courgette strips with a little oil, season with salt and pepper and chargrill either on your BBQ or in a grill frying pan.

Slice the halloumi into ½ cm wide strips, toss in some seasoned flour, then pan fry in the oil.

Arrange the vegetables and halloumi on serving plates, garnish with the almonds, greens and flowers, and drizzle with a little dressing.