Mob Kitchen: Warm Halloumi, Butternut Squash Salad

My daughter introduced me to this website, Mob Kitchen, as she and many of her friends are following it. MobKitchen posts recipes for tasty meals on a budget plus short videos on how to prepare them. At the bottom of each recipe is a list of ingredients which shows the possible cost.

“FIRSTLY, unlike most budget cooking sites, Mob Kitchen makes NO ABSURD STORE CUPBOARD ASSUMPTIONS. We do not assume you have the odd dusting of cumin on this shelf, and the perfect number of bay leaves on that one. All we expect is that you have SALT, PEPPER, OLIVE OIL and a tenner. Nothing more.

SECONDLY, all of the ingredients in the our recipes are priced at the cost of the product in the supermarkets. If we use cumin in a dish, even if it is only a quarter of a teaspoon, it is priced at the cost of the whole jar.

We do this so that ANYONE with a tenner can cook our recipes.”

I think everyone is finding that the cost of food is escalating, not just my kids. So I was straight onto this website and I have tried out quite a few of the recipes which I will now be sharing with you. It has some very innovative vegetarian dishes and a great music section as the founder, Benjamin Lebus, believes food and music are linked. I just enjoyed listening to their playlist as I cooked and we ate our meal.

Warm Halloumi, Butternut Squash and Tahini Salad

Ingredients: serves 4

• 30g Fresh Mint – £0.70
• 100g Pine Nuts – £2.00
• 1 Lemon – £0.30
• 200g Kale – £1.00
• 1 Red Onion – £0.21
• 1 clove of Garlic – £0.30
• 3 tablespoons of tahini – £2.09
• 80g Pomegranate seeds – £1.00
• 1 Large butternut squash  £1.00
• 225g Halloumi – £1.70
• Total Cost – £9.80

How to Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F
2. Cut up 1 large butternut squash into cubes. Cut 1 red onion into chunks. Add to roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 30 minutes or until caramelised and soft.
3. Dressing time. Into a bowl add three tablespoons of tahini, half a clove of grated garlic, the juice of a lemon, a big pinch of salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix everything together. Add warm water until you have a thick, creamy consistency. Set dressing aside.
4. Toast pine nuts and set aside.
5. Steam kale until cooked through (7-8 minutes) and set aside.
6. Cut halloumi into thick slices
7. When the onions and the butternut squash are ready, move them from oven. Get a griddle pan on the heat (use frying pan if you don’t have a griddle), add a drizzle of olive oil, and then add halloumi.
8. Cook on high heat for 3 minutes on each side.
9. Assembly time. Into a bowl, add butternut squash, onion, pine nuts, kale, pomegranate seeds, and a handful of chopped mint. Mix everything together. Pour tahini dressing over, and mix it in. Top the salad with leftover pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and mint leaves. Enjoy!

For more recipes from Mob Kitchen click HERE.