Spa+Clinic Team It takes time and effort to properly keep in touch with friends. Due to the fast-paced nature of professional life, it’s not surprising that our social circles can easily slip from real life into mostly online interaction.
So if you’re looking for an excuse to reconnect with your companions in real life, why not hold a gathering to celebrate Global Wellness Day?
This is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to healthy living, falling on the second Saturday of June each year. In 2017 it’s this coming Saturday, June 11.
Catering for such an event doesn’t have to be stressful, nor should it be unhealthy. As a matter of fact, British fitness coach Joe Wicks has written a book dedicated to super easy, crowd-pleasing party food that’s both nutritious and tasty.
His recipe compilation, Cooking for Family and Friends, is packed with more than more than 100 dishes perfect for sharing with the special people in your life.
The Haloumi Dippers from the book are exactly the sort of finger food SPA+CLINIC loves.
Haloumi Dippers
Serves 4. Prep time 12 minutes. Cooking time 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 75g plain flour
- 150g breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp nigella seeds
- 2 x 250g blocks of haloumi, patted dry and cut into 1cm slices
- 300g fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped into 2cm chunks juice of 1 lime
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp chipotle paste
- salt and pepper
- 1 avocado, de-stoned and cut into thick wedges
- rocket, to serve
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC (fan 160℃/gas mark 4).
- Spoon the coconut oil onto a baking tray and slide the tray into the oven to heat for 5 minutes while you crumb your halloumi.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and give them a whisk. Tip the flour and breadcrumbs into separate bowls and mix the nigella seeds through the breadcrumbs. Pick up a slice of halloumi and first dip it into the flour, giving it a little shake to remove any excess, then dip into the egg, again giving it a little shake.
- Drop the slice into the breadcrumbs and flip around a couple of times to ensure it is evenly coated. Place the crumbed cheese onto a plate and then repeat the process with the remaining slices of cheese.
- When you have a neat line of crumbed cheese, carefully slide the hot baking tray out of the oven and lay the cheese slices into the hot oil. Slide the tray back into the oven and cook for 3 minutes, then carefully flip the cheeses over and cook for a further 3 minutes, until the halloumi is warmed through and the breadcrumbs are golden.
- While the cheese is baking, mix together the chopped tomatoes, lime juice, red onion and chipotle paste and season with salt and pepper.
- Before serving, slide the baked cheese onto a clean piece of kitchen roll and dab off the excess oil. Serve with the avocado, the quick tomato salsa and a big fistful of rocket.
Joe Wicks coaches people on ways to eat more, build muscle, build fat and get social. He is a bestselling author and owner of fitness app, Shift, Shape and Sustain. Cooking for Family and Friends, by Joe Wicks, is published by Pan MacMillan.
