Time: 1 hour + 30 minutes

Serves: 2-3

400gm can crushed tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, roughly diced

1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

1 tbl sp dr oregano

1 tbl sp paprika

1 lemon, zest & juice

3 large sprigs of thyme

1 tbl sp capers, roughly diced

3 blocks halloumi (around 200gm each)

4 sprigs mint, leaves, washed, chiffonade

Olive oil

Salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

In a large casserole add in crushed tomatoes (+ half the can in water), garlic, capsicum, oregano, paprika and lemon zest. Season with 2 tbl sp olive oil and a solid pinch of salt to taste. Mix all together thoroughly before squishing in the thyme sprigs. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

Whilst base is baking, work on hasselbacking the halloumi. Start out by drying halloumi with paper towel to remove all moisture. Get two chopsticks and sandwich the halloumi longways between the two. Cut down the halloumi with a sharp knife leaving a centimetre between each cut, allowing the chopsticks to stop you from cutting all the way through. Repeat process with all three halloumi until you have finished the accordion look.

Take sauce out from oven after 15 minutes and remove the thyme sprigs. Add in the capers and mix through before positioning the halloumi into the sauce. You want the halloumi touching the bottom of the casserole and the sauce coming half way around it. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil on the halloumi top and bake for another 45 - 60 minutes or until you have a beautiful deep char on top. If your oven isn’t a super hot oven finish, with a grill setting on the highest temp to get that char.

Once finishes take casserole out from oven and finish the mint for garnish and a big squeeze of the lemon juice from the lemon we zested earlier. Serve with bread or rice, or enjoy as is.