Herbed Halloumi Courgette Muffins

Serves 12

Hip hip hooray for it’s allllmost courgette season!...(has anyone ever actually said that phrase before?? I highly doubt it).  I know they are technically now available all year long, but there is just something extra special about being able to actually pick your own.  Kids are such funny creatures, aren’t they?  Mine will not try (or more precisely, even hold) a courgette for exactly 9 months of the year.  But as soon as we go to the fruit and veg picking farm and stock up on ones of our own, it’s game on!  Courgette this, courgette that.  But god forbid I was to offer them a shop bought one?....oh the horror! 

So I try to make hay as much as I can in these summer months.  We make courgette bread, crispy baked courgette fries and then, of course, these muffins.  Which, by the way, are a total revelation. They only take 5 minutes to prepare, all in one bowl and then 12 minutes in the oven.  So they are very quick and easy to make, with minimal mess and they are great to freeze.  One muffin provides 144 calories, 2g of fibre and a huge 9g of protein.  They have complex carbohydrates from the wholegrain flour to keep your blood sugar and energy levels steady, so they really do make a fabulous any-time-of-day snack that is packed full of flavour.  I either have a couple for breakfast on the run, for lunch with a side salad or simply just on their own for a mid-afternoon protein boost, especially post-workout.  I highly recommend having a batch of them in your freezer to quickly defrost in the microwave when the dreaded hanger strikes and you can’t even think straight!

Since the base ingredients work so well, I am keen to experiment with other vegetable/cheese combinations – I think I will go for a pea, leek and feta combo next, so I will keep you posted on that one! 

INGREDIENTS

·      320g Courgettes
·      6 Large Eggs
·      155g Wholemeal Self-Raising Flour
·      190g Halloumi
·      6 Spring onions
·      25g Mixed Seeds (I used Pumpkin and Hemp Seeds)
·      A big handful of fresh Basil
·      A big handful of fresh Dill
·      A big handful of fresh Chives
·      Fresh black pepper to taste (Note – Halloumi is quite salty so you might not need any additional salt at all)
·      Optional - 1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes

METHOD

·      Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
·      Line 12 silicon muffin trays with a tiny bit of oil to prevent from sticking.
·      Finely chop all of the herbs and the spring onions.
·      Grate the courgettes on to a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. 
·      Place the courgettes in a large mixing bowl and grate the halloumi into it.
·      Add the eggs and combine well.
·      Sift in the flour.
·      Mix well until there are no floury lumps.
·      Add the herbs and the pepper.
·      Spoon the batter into the muffin trays and sprinkle each one with seeds.
·      Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until a fork comes out clean.
·      Enjoy fresh out of the oven or else cool on a wire rack and freeze.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

Calories – 144
Protein – 9g
Fibre – 2g
Carbohydrates – 9g
Fat – 8g