Za'atar Halloumi Flatbreads

Ingredients

• 225 g halloumi, sliced into 1cm planks
• 2 flatbreads or pittas
• 0.5 cucumber, sliced
• 100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 0.25 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp za'atar
• 4 tbsp hummus
• 1 lemon, juiced
• handful mixed salad leaves
• 15g mint, leaves picked
• garlic yoghurt sauce, to serve
• pickled green chillies, to serve
• tabbouleh, to serve

Method

1. Mix the za'atar with 2 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl to make a loose, fragrant paste. Coat the halloumi planks on both sides and leave to sit while you heat the pan — this lets the herbs and sesame settle into the surface so they crust rather than scatter.
2. Pat the halloumi dry of any pooled oil before it hits the pan. Water means steam, and steam means no crust.
3. Heat a dry griddle or heavy frying pan over high heat until you see the first wisp of smoke. Lay the halloumi down in a single layer with space between each plank — crowd the pan and the cheese sweats instead of charring. Cook for 2–3 minutes per side, until deeply striped with dark griddle lines and golden at the edges. Don't move it too early or you'll tear the crust off.
4. While the halloumi cooks, toss the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion in a bowl with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a generous pinch of sea salt. Let it sit for a minute so the salt draws juice from the tomatoes and softens the raw bite of the onion. Taste — it should be bright and properly seasoned, not shy.
5. Warm the flatbreads in a dry pan or directly over a gas flame for 30–45 seconds per side, until soft, pliable and freckled with char. Cold flatbread cracks when you fold it; warm flatbread bends.
6. Spread each flatbread generously with hummus, right to the edges — the hummus is the glue and the seasoning, so don't be mean with it.
7. Pile on the salad leaves, then the dressed cucumber and tomato with their juices, then the griddled halloumi still hot from the pan. Scatter over the torn mint and a pinch of chilli flakes. Taste a corner of the loaded flatbread and adjust — another pinch of salt, another squeeze of lemon if it needs lifting.
8. Plate each flatbread with a spoonful of garlic yoghurt sauce alongside, a few pickled green chillies, and a mound of tabbouleh on the side.