Barry Lewis Chicken and Halloumi Tray Bake Recipe

I’m trying to cook more simple fresh and healthy meals at the moment, partly because of the pregnancy, partly because I just think me and Jon need to eat a little better than we do at the moment, but also in part because I actually have a bit more time on my hands since leaving the day job to come on board full time with Cross-Jones Photography, it means I am in the house most days so can easily take an hour out to prepare a proper meal for us both while Jon continues working on editing or admin stuff (or he can actually help me in the kitchen!)

So with that in mind I have been looking for great cookbooks that cover simple to cook healthy meals, I have plenty of celebrity cook books but half the time the recipes take a lot of time, or lots of ingredients which just isn’t always practical, don’t get me wrong I still love them and will use them when I want to cook something a bit more flashy, but for day to day cooking I just want something simple and tasty. So when I stumbled on Chef Barry Lewis and his Dinner’s On Cook Book I was super happy! Lots of awesome recipes that are nearly all simple to prepare, healthy and use easy to buy ingredients, perfect! If your looking for a great cook book to get you started cooking more, or just want book of simple recipes I would totally advise you check out this one!

So the first recipe I tried out was his chicken thigh and halloumi tray bake recipe. All in one pan cooking is definitely a big hit with me, less mess and easy to prepare! I did alter it but only slightly! I’m not a fan of thighs so used 2 breasts instead, I switched red onion for shallots as I don’t like red onions, and I think I added the beans as I happened to have them in the fridge. this is one of those kinds of recipe that you could pretty much add any veggies too that you happen to have in your fridge or cupboard as most will work well with the chicken and halloumi, so its a great end of the week dish!

My recipe below is just for 2 people but could easily be doubled or added to for more people. It would make a great family dinner and is a great way to get extra veggies into your meal. Jon’s only complaint is that it could have done with a bit of a sauce on it, although I loved it as it was. I plan to make lots more of this type of tray bake recipe in the future as its just so easy but gets lots of goodness into your diet!

Plus if your a slimming world’er this could easily be adapted to be free! Use the correct weight of Halloumi to be your Healthy Extra and use fry light instead of oil. You may need to check on it and stir it more so the veg don’t burn but it would still work really well. 

Chicken and Halloumi Tray Bake

This is a super simple, cheap and tasty family friendly meal. All made in one pan, just pop it in the oven and leave it till cooked. Its super healthy and a great way to get lots of veggies cooked in one meal. I only cooked it for 2 but it can easily be doubled for a family of 4. The original recipe comes from Barry Lewis but I have adapted it slightly.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 chicken breasts
• 8 Shallots peeled and cut in half
• 8 New potatoes halved or quartered
• 1 Red Pepper Sliced
• 1 Yellow Pepper Sliced
• 1/2 pack of green beans topped and tailed and cut in half
• Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Dried Basil
• 200 g Halloumi sliced
• Pepper to taste

Method

 

1. Preheat Oven to 180/160 Fan assisted/Gas mark 4
2. Place all the veg in your pan and add a good slug of olive oil, half the basil and some pepper to taste, mix well with the veg.
3. Place the chicken on top, drizzle with some more oil and sprinkling of basil.
4. Pop the whole tray in the oven for 30 minutes.
5. Check the chicken is cooked through by making a little slice in it, if its still pink pop it back in for a few more minutes.
6. When the chicken is looking cooked remove the tray and give it all a good mix again. Top with the halloumi and pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or pop the tray under the grill for a few minutes until the halloumi has just started to soften and brown.
7. Remove, serve and enjoy!

Notes

You won't need to add salt as the halloumi will add some
I don't use any pepper in my cooking due to an allergy but just add for your taste.
You could try adding some chilli flakes for extra spice if you'd like a kick
This works well with lots of other veggies, so just add anything you happen to have in your fridge or cupboard.
We also tried wrapping the chicken in some bacon first which also works really well!

Adapted from Barry Lewis - Dinner's On!