Halloumi Chicken

Ingredients (for 2ppl):

Main Ingredients:

• 2 x chicken breasts
• 225g block of halloumi cheese
• 2 cartons red cherry tomatoes
• 4 large basil leaves
• 4.5 tbsp olive oil
• large pinch of salt
• large pinch of pepper

Basil Oil:

• 4.5 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 large handfuls of basil
• large pinch of salt
• large pinch of pepper
• Juice from half a lemon

Goes Well With:

• Roast Potatoes
• Seasonal Vegetables

Utensils:

• Oven tray
• Blender

Instructions

Best if chicken is brined (45mins - 4h)

Prepare (3mins):

1. Turn oven to 175°
2. Cut halloumi into thick slices
3. Put olive oil, salt, pepper, tomatoes and chicken into a bowl and mix

Cooking (30mins):

1. Put chicken on baking tray, then two large basil leaves on top and a slice of halloumi on top with tomatoes around the chicken and in the oven (15 mins)
2. While chicken is cooking, add the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice into a blender and blitz for 30s, add basil leaves and blitz for a further 30s till pesto consistency, keep aside
3. Change oven to grill (10 mins)
4. Take out chicken, transfer to a chopping board and cover with foil and a tea cloth and rest, put tomatoes back in the oven at 200° (5 minutes)
5. Spoon pesto over chicken and decorate with tomatoes