BBQ Diaries; Courgette Canoes with Halloumi

Halve your courgettes lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop out the soft centres to create the ‘canoes’. Score the courgettes lightly to help with absorbing the flavours. Add a generous pinch of salt and an optional little dusting of any spices you enjoy. I went for a chermoula spice mix, but you can easily pick up lots of ready-made spice mixes - this one is very similar to Ras El Hanout. Next, spread some chutney over the courgettes – not too much, as it’ll overpower everything else, but enough to enjoy. Thinly slice the halloumi using a cheese slicer; I used the slicing part on the side of my box grater (the slices need to be thicker than grated cheese, so they have some body, but thinner than the usual thick BBQ halloumi slices, so that they’ll melt quickly). Lay the halloumi slices over the courgette canoes as generously as you can, and top with a good amount of freshly ground black pepper.

Set up your BBQ with coals on one side, for direct and indirect cooking zones. Place the courgettes on the indirect zone of the BBQ and cook, lid down, for 20-25 minutes until the halloumi has melted but the courgette still has some structure to it (a little hit of woodsmoke adds an extra-special dimension here). Serve with a drizzle of mayo and a scattering of freshly chopped coriander.