Ok. So Sophia and I hosted this pretty cool Brunch event as part of our Two Kitchens Brussels Supper Club & Cooking Class series (Click here to check this out).


On Saturday 16 & 17 March, we hosted 26 people in total for an all you can eat Brunch buffet, including buttermilk pancakes with Miso butter, bananas and black sesame, Shakshuka with Paprika butter, banana bread with tahini frosting, turmeric kardamom granola with blueberry compote, BLT sandwiches with Gochujang-glazed bacon and *drumroll* toasted Zucchini bread with grilled halloumi, chipotle sour cream and tomato jam, inspired by Lantana Cafe in London.

The dish was an absolute hit and everyone wanted to know the recipe. We usually put together a small booklet with recipes that people can take home, but this one we hadn't included. Now, instead of sending it to everyone individually, just writing a blogpost about it and sharing it with you guys as well, seemed like a more practical solution.

Why is this such a delicious, crowd-pleasing recipe? I think I have the answer. This courgette or zucchini bread has a smooth taste, because of the chunks of zucchini that go into it mixed with buttermilk. It's then toasted in butter so that it gets nice, crispy and golden brown from both sides. You add some spiciness through a simple chipotle sour cream and then balance this off with a sweet tomato jam with hints of lime. It's just a very nice composition of flavours, textures, ingredients and colours.

Ingredients

For the Zucchini loaf:
360g flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
100g shredded Zucchini
2 eggs
265 ml buttermilk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
more salt to taste
(optional: 150g Feta, crumbled into the final batter)

For the Halloumi:
250g Halloumi, cut into 1cm slices

For the chipotle sour cream:
1 - 1 1/2 tsp ground chipotle
300g sour cream
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp maple syrup
salt to taste

For the tomato jam:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 shallot, chopped into very small cubes
400g cherry tomatoes, washed and dried
juice from 1 lime
2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste

To serve:
some butter
3 spring onions, finely slices
some sea salt flakes

Preparation

For the loaf:
Preheat oven to 180C.

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pepper, thyme and shredded zucchini in a bowl and set aside. You could also add some chopped parsley or basil, if you want your courgette bread to be 'herbier'.

Whisk eggs with buttermilk and oil, add some salt if wished, in a big bowl. Stepwise add your flour mixture and fold into the egg mix.

Grease a loaf pan and pour in the dough. Bake for 55 minutes, until your loaf is golden-brown. When you insert a toothpick, it should come out clean.

Let cool entirely. Can be made 1-2 days before serving.


For the chipotle sour cream:
Put all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.


For the tomato jam:
Heat a pan on medium heat. Add olive oil. Add garlic and shallots and fry until translucent and soft, but not browned. Add tomatoes and fry on higher heat until they burst and get soft.

Add lime juice, apple cider vinegar and sugar and stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low and let everything simmer for 15 minutes. Add some salt to taste - the jam should retain its soft and fruity flavour.

Cool down and store in an airtight jar or use immediately. Can be made 2-3 days before serving. Also tastes great with cheese, or simply spread onto a slice of bread.


Assembling:
Heat a pan on medium heat. Add a teaspoon of butter and wait until it has melted. Slice your zucchini loaf into 2 cm thick slices and add 4-6 of them to the pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then turn. Both sides should be golden brown. Take out of pan and arrange on plates. Fry the remaining slices of the bread.

At the same time, heat another pan and fry halloumi from both sides, without any fat added, until nicely roasted.

Place one piece of halloumi on each piece of zucchini bread. Add a tablespoon of chipotle sour cream and a teaspoon of your tomato jam. Garnish with sliced spring onion and a pinch of sea salt flakes. Serve warm.