I love halloumi, it is one of my favourite cheeses, I always have a pack in my fridge.

The saltiness of the cheese with the chilli oil and lemon, is just delicious. Make sure you have a loaf of crusty Italian bread in the house though, to dip into the oil.

This recipe is so easy and quick to put together it will become a regular party dish in my house. But it's also great for lunch and dinner with a green salad. ​

​Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's cookbook 'Nigella Bites'

Makes 20-30 pieces

2 tablespoons chopped, deseeded fresh red chillis
¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
500g halloumi, sliced medium thin, about 1/2cm thick
juice of ¼ lemon

Serve with crusty Italian bread
​

Mix the chopped chilli and extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl or cup and leave the flavours to deepen while you cook the cheese.

I use a non-stick frying pan for this, without any oil, and just give the cheese slices about 2 minutes a side until they're golden-brown in parts.

When all the slices of halloumi are cooked, transfer them to a couple of small plates.

Give the chilli oil a stir, spoon it over the cheese, then give a spritz of lemon.

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​Let me start by saying that I always have a bag of frozen Australian prawns in my freezer. Some days I just don't feel like going shopping and on such occasions frozen prawns are brilliant as you can do so much with them.

This recipe is made with ingredients I always have in the house. It is so simple to make, and when I make it my family don't leave the table until every prawn is gone.

This would be ideal at parties as finger food, something different to do with prawns.

Note: Always zest the lime before you juice it, far easier.

​Recipe adapted from Lorraine Pascale's cookbook Baking Made Easy

Serves 4 as a starter

Finely grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 2 limes
90ml whiskey
180g soft light brown sugar
20 raw tiger prawns, peeled and deveined
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil


Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan forced.

Put the lime juice, whiskey and sugar in a pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring, increase the heat to high, bring to the boil, and cook a further 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and is syrupy. (If the whiskey catches alight, and you see blue-orange flames, just take it off the heat and the whiskey will burn out, this hasn't happened to me yet, but I thought I'd mention it as it is the original recipe).

Stir in the lime zest, remove from heat and set aside.

Put the prawns side by side in a shallow ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the chilli.

Brush the prawns with the oil.

Pour 1/4 cup of your whiskey syrup in a small bowl. Brush the syrup onto the prawns. Reserve the remainder of the syrup for dipping the prawns into once they are cooked.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the prawns turn opaque. Brush with some of the reserved syrup.

Allow to cool slightly as the glaze can be very hot, serve with crusty bread and a salad if you like.

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​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella