As festive gatherings kick into gear, acclaimed cookbook author Rukmini Iyer has shared two spectacular yet simple recipes designed to delight guests without exhausting the host. The duo – a sizzling hot halloumi platter with a vibrant pineapple salsa and a tray of za'atar-roasted carrots served with creamy labneh – offer a modern, shareable twist on party classics.
Hot Halloumi Platter with Punchy Pineapple Salsa
Iyer champions this dish as a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, suggesting that even for a smaller group, it's worth using two 225g blocks of halloumi. She describes it as a joyful, festive update on the retro cheese and pineapple on a stick. The key to its success lies in the contrast between the salty, crisply fried cheese and the sweet, sour, and spicy fresh salsa.
Preparation is straightforward, with a total time of 35 minutes (20 minutes prep, 15 minutes cook), serving six as a snack or side. The salsa combines small chunks of ripe pineapple with finely chopped red onion, deseeded red chilli, fresh mint, and the zest and juice of one to two limes. Iyer advises mixing the lime juice and sea salt flakes gradually, tasting as you go, to achieve the perfect punchy balance.
The halloumi, patted dry and sliced into half-centimetre pieces, is fried in a little olive oil until golden brown on each side. To keep all the slices warm and perfectly melty for serving, Iyer recommends transferring the fried batches to a plate lined with kitchen paper and placing them in a low oven set to 70C (50C fan).
Za'atar Roast Carrots with Labneh and Pistachios
The second recipe is a high-impact, low-effort dish perfect for a meze spread. Iyer reveals a handy tip for the labneh: hanging plain yoghurt in muslin for just 30 minutes creates a soft-set cheese ideal for this recipe, though a firmer set can be achieved by leaving it for an hour.
This recipe takes 50 minutes in total (10 minutes prep, 40 minutes cook) and serves four. A kilogram of carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally, is tossed with grated garlic, za'atar, olive oil, and flaky sea salt. They are first roasted covered with foil for 20 minutes at 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7, then uncovered and drizzled with maple syrup for a final 10 minutes. Pistachios are toasted in the oven alongside the carrots for the last few minutes before being roughly chopped for scattering.
The beauty of this dish is its make-ahead potential. Both the carrots and labneh can be prepared in advance and assembled at the last minute, with the carrots warmed through for 10 minutes if necessary. To serve, the labneh is spread on a platter, topped with the warm carrots, and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice, the toasted pistachios, and optional fresh mint leaves.
Effortless Entertaining for the Festive Season
Both recipes epitomise Iyer's celebrated approach to cooking: maximum flavour with minimal fuss. The halloumi platter's components can be pre-chopped and stored separately in the fridge, then mixed and cooked just before serving. Similarly, the carrot dish's elements are prepared independently and combined at the moment they are needed.
These dishes offer a brilliant solution for anyone contributing to a New Year's party or any festive shindig. They provide sophisticated, visually stunning options that are deceptively easy to execute, allowing the cook to spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the celebrations with their guests.
