Simple but lovely flavours and slippery texture. An easy, almost healthy, colourful make ahead pasta supper.
Serves 2
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 30 min
2 small or 1 large Romano red peppers
4 vine tomatoes
1-2 tbsp olive oil
200g orecchiette pasta
knob of butter
150ml baby spinach
1 lime
250g halloumi
Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Halve the tomatoes round their middles and place next to the peppers on a shallow roasting tin. Smear the tomatoes with oil. Roast for 15 minutes, turn the peppers and cook for a further 10 minutes. Lift the peppers onto a plate (I use tongs) and cover with a stretch of clingfilm and leave for 10 minutes. Swipe off the puffy skin, remove stalks and seeds, split and swipe away the remaining seeds. Cut or tear into chunky pieces. Return the tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes or so until squishily soft. Leave the tomatoes to cool slightly, then push the flesh off the skin; don’t be too neat about this, it doesn’t matter, you just want tomato without skin. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions – like to be 10 minutes or so – to coordinate with peppers and tomatoes. Drain the al dente pasta, return to the pan and add the butter and spinach, stirring to encourage it to wilt. Fold in peppers and tomato. Slice the halloumi chunkily. Add remaining olive oil to a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the slices for a couple of minutes a side, until crusty and golden. Serve separately with wedges of lime to squeeze over the top.