Halloumi Burger with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Method

Halloumi Burger

Slice the halloumi cheese into 4 slices. Lightly oil a frying pan and heat the halloumi slices. They should be golden on the outside after about one minute on each side.

Cut the brioche buns and grill the middles.

Fill the brioche buns with the rocket, tomato slices and halloumi. Serve with homemade tomato ketchup and, if you’re hungry, sweet potato fries.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Chop the tomatoes into a bowl and mix with salt. Set aside for 3 hours to allow the salt to draw the liquid out of the tomatoes.

Peel, core and dice the apples and the onions and mix them together in a deep-bottomed pan. Drain the tomatoes in a colander and add them to the pan along with all the other ingredients.

Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour to allow the sauce to thicken and reduce by about a third.

Take off the heat and allow to cool. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick, then using a hand blender, blend the sauce to a smooth consistency. Return the pan to the heat and simmer for a further 20 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken further.

Allow to cool and then decant into sterilised, sealed jars. The sauce can be eaten straight away, however you’ll get best results if you leave the jars to mature for up to 4 weeks in a cool dark place.

Check out Gill's quick video for this sweet sauce!