Hot Honey Halloumi with Roast Carrots & Lentils

Ingredients

• 800g carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 x 250g pouches cooked puy lentils
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 15g mint, roughly chopped
• 250g halloumi, sliced
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 120g Greek yogurt
• salt and black pepper to taste
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Rocket and seed salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Toss the carrots and parsnips with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the ground cumin, season generously with salt and black pepper, and spread them across a tray in a single layer — crowd them and they steam instead of roast. Bloom-roast for 30 to 35 minutes until the edges are deeply caramelised and a knife slides through with no resistance; the cumin will smell warm and nutty rather than dusty, which is the spice doing its job.
2. While the tray is in, warm the lentils in a small pan with the spring onions and a splash of water over a gentle heat — just enough to loosen them, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the shredded spinach through for the last minute so it wilts but stays green, then pull off the heat.
3. Add the lemon zest, half the lemon juice and most of the chopped mint to the lentils. Taste, season with salt and pepper, then taste again — they should feel bright and lifted, sharp enough to carry the sweet-spicy halloumi coming next. Adjust now, not at the table.
4. Mix the honey with the chilli flakes in a small bowl. Pat the halloumi slices very dry on kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no golden crust.
5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a stainless or cast-iron frying pan over a medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the halloumi in, working in two batches if your pan is small — don't crowd it, or the slices sweat instead of browning. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes a side until deeply golden and squeaky.
6. Turn the heat down, spoon the chilli-honey over the halloumi in the pan and let it bubble around the cheese for 20 to 30 seconds, swirling the pan so the honey turns glossy and coats every slice. Pull it off the heat the moment it looks sticky — honey burns from amber to bitter in seconds, so watch it.
7. Pile the roast carrots and parsnips onto plates, spoon the herby lentils alongside, and lay the hot honey halloumi over the top, scraping any sticky pan-syrup over the cheese. Dollop the Greek yoghurt to one side, scatter with the remaining mint, and finish with a squeeze of lemon from the wedge — the acid cuts the honey and ties the plate together.