Yesterday I went to Taste of Auckland for the first time. It was a nice way to spend a warm Saturday evening in the sun. After trying various samples (some more than once...) we purchased some of the standouts: Garlic & Herb Marinated Feta from Top Shelf, two packets of haloumi cheese from The Collective Dairy, turkish bread from Wild Wheat, and Divinity Olive Oil. We didn't purchase any crowns (the festival currency) so didn't try any of the restaurant meals. There were actually enough samples so that we didn't need to eat dinner that night, but next year I will definitely get some crowns to try restaurant meals and drinks. One thing that intrigued me was the number of stalls selling alcohol spiders (beer and cider), which is something I'm curious to try.
Honey Roast Chicken Breast with Haloumi and Broccoli
You will need:
- 2 chicken breasts
- haloumi cheese
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- dried thyme
- lemon zest
- 1 onion cut into quarters
Directions:
- Cut the chicken breasts in half so that you have 4 portions and place them in a roasting dish
- Cut four slices of haloumi from the block (as thick or thin as you want - I went for about half a cm thickness, wanting to save the rest of the block because it's just that good) and drape across each piece of chicken.
- Grate lemon zest over the top of chicken and haloumi
- In a microwaveable mug, put olive oil and honey. Olive oil first, because it will lubricate your spoon so that you can get the honey off more easily. Microwave this for 10 seconds and mix together.
- Pour honey and oil over top of chicken.
- Sprinkle with thyme.
- Place onion quarters in the center of the dish, in between pieces of chicken.
- Bake in a 180 degree celsius oven for approximately 20 minutes.
- When the chicken is just about cooked, take it out and with a pastry brush or a spoon, spread the pan juices over top of the meat.
The salty haloumi is really boosted by the sweet honey sauce. I served this salty-sweet roast with boiled broccoli sprinkled with lemon juice and shaved almonds, and the last of our turkish bread with the deliciously sharp Top Shelf feta spread on top.