I probably eat this for lunch once or twice a week. It does, after all, contain two of the nation's new best foodstuffs. Well, notwithstanding the fact that the Brits reputedly live on fish and chips and roast beef. In the winter, this can be dressed up with chilli sauce, but in the warmer months it works well as a salad. Shopkeepers, one way or another, eat a lot of salads, as what starts as a piping hot lunch often cools to a trendy room temperature while they serve customers in between mouthfuls… ho-hum. This is what "back in five minutes" signs are made for.

Makes: lunch for 1
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 5 minutes

Ingredients

● Splash of olive oil
● 1 small head of broccoli, broken into small florets
● 3 thick slices halloumi (roughly 75g), cubed (2 is probably enough for most, but I'm an unrepentant halloumi glutton)
● 4–5 cherry tomatoes, halved
● ½ tsp mint sauce
● 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
● Freshly ground black pepper

Method

● Heat the oil in a pan or wok and add in the broccoli.

● Cook for 3 minutes, stirring well, before adding the halloumi. Cook for another minute or so, still stirring, until the cheese starts to brown.

● Add the tomatoes and cook for a minute more.

● Take off the heat and add the mint sauce and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy while still warm.

Sally Butcher runs south London Persian food store, Persepolis, and is the author of Persian in Peckham, Veggiestan, Snackistan and the book from which this recipe is adapted, Salmagundi: salads from
the Middle East and
beyond, Pavilion