On a trip, I bought houmous with asparagus and I loved it. I wanted to recreate the recipe at home, so this is my version of asparagus houmous, served with shallow-fried halloumi. I used fresh asparagus, but I imagine the recipe would be just as delicious with frozen asparagus.

Ingredients for 2 portions:
– 200g halloumi
– 100g asparagus
– 480g cooked chickpeas (drained)
– 1 lemon, zest only
– 2 spoons tahini
– 1/2 tsp sumac
– salt
– 1/4 tsp garlic powder
– 2 spoons of olive oil
– 1 spoon of oil

Start by preparing the asparagus. Wash and cut the hard ends, then blanch it. If you didn’t blanch veggies before, it’s very simple. Boil water, tip the asparagus in the water and leave it for 4-5 minutes. Drain the veggies and toss them in a bowl with cold water and ice cubes so the cooking process is stopped. It will make the veggies keep their beautiful colour.

Put the chickpeas in a food processor and add the cut asparagus. Pour half of the lemon zest with the tahini and the spices. If you don’t have garlic power, just add a mashed garlic clove instead. Whiz the houmous until is smooth. Taste and add the rest of lemon zest if you like, add more condiments to suit your taste.
Meanwhile, heat up a frying pan and drizzle a spoon of oil. Cut the halloumi in cubes, toss them in the pan and shallow-fry them. Stir from time to time.

To serve, scoop the asparagus houmous in two bowls, put the fried halloumi on the houmous and drizzle a spoon of olive oil top, do the same with the other plate. The dish is now ready to be served, hope you’ve enjoyed my recipe.

If you want to make a vegan dish, switch the grilled houmous with falafel.