Pan-Seared Halloumi with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas

Ingredients

• 500 g halloumi, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
• 400 g cherry tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 15g fresh basil or mint, torn
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve
• Dressed rocket salad with shaved parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Pat the chickpeas properly dry on a clean tea towel — wet chickpeas steam, dry chickpeas crisp.
2. Tip the chickpeas and cherry tomatoes onto a large baking tray. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the smoked paprika, cumin, chilli flakes, the unpeeled garlic cloves, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Toss well — every chickpea wants a slick of oil and spice. Bloom happens in the oven here: the spices need that fat to wake up and stop tasting dusty. Spread everything out in a single layer so the tomatoes burst rather than stew.
3. Roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have collapsed into a sticky, jammy sauce and the chickpeas are crackling and golden at the edges. The garlic in its skins should be soft and sweet — leaving them whole and unpeeled is the trick that stops them burning to bitterness in the dry heat of the tray.
4. Squeeze the roasted garlic flesh out of its papery skins straight onto the tray and mash it through the chickpeas and tomatoes with a fork. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top and stir everything together with the tomato juices — the acid lifts the smoke and ties the spices to the fruit. Taste now and season again: roasted chickpeas drink salt, so don't be shy.
5. While the tray finishes, set a heavy stainless or cast-iron frying pan over a high heat with the reserved 1 tablespoon of oil. Wait until it shimmers and you can feel the heat rising off it — a cool pan means halloumi sticks and weeps instead of bronzing.
6. Lay the halloumi in a single layer, working in two batches. Don't crowd the pan — too much cheese at once drops the heat and you'll get pale, rubbery slices instead of lacquered ones. Cook for 2–3 minutes per side, untouched, until each face is deep mahogany-gold and almost crisp at the edge.
7. Spread the roasted chickpeas and tomatoes across a large warm platter, scraping every drop of pan juice over the top. Taste one more time — if it needs another pinch of salt or a final squeeze of lemon, adjust now, not at the table.
8. Arrange the seared halloumi over the chickpeas while it's still squeaking-hot from the pan, drizzle generously with the pomegranate molasses, and scatter the torn basil or mint across the lot. Serve with crusty ciabatta and the rocket salad alongside.