Years ago I used to live in a sharehouse with a guy who used to wet the bed nearly every night. He'd discreetly as possible put his mattress outside in the sunshine to dry. His dog also used to rip our bras off the line, and he'd never clean the grill after cooking chops. In a house full of vegetarian girls, he didn't last long for that reason.

However, he did do something that blew my mind in a good way - he made beetroot risotto. At first I was horrified. What on earth? Who puts beetroot in risotto? But goodness, it was amazing, not least because the colour was a massive improvement on white! After that, I put beetroot in anything. It's essentially a root vegetable like a carrot or a potato, so why not?

When it's beetroot season here, I grate beetroot into one of our staple dinners - what we call halloumi rice. I've been making this since my boy was little because it's sooo quick and easy. It honestly doesn't sound like much, but it's super tasty. I use half a block of halloumi because it's not cheap (though it's cheaper than meat) and I like to stretch it over two meals.

In many ways, it's just like a pillaf or a fried rice, with a bit of a twist.

Halloumi Rice

1 grated beetroot
Half a sliced large fennel
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 - 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic (optional)
1 finely chopped zucchini
half a head of broccoli, chopped into small florets (I used purple sprouting broccoli for this one)
Any other vegetables you have to hand - a few handfuls of spinach or silverbeet, asparagus, beans.
1/2 block halloumi
1 cup of brown rice per person
Something tangy or spicey - I use a good handful of pickled jalapenos, but sometimes I use preserved lemon
Tamari, worchestershire sauce, lemon juice
A handful of fresh parsley and some pan fried seeds to finish

Basically you want about two cups of vegetables per person and one cup of rice, and half a block of halloumi per 2 people. I always make this for two so you'll need to think about who you're feeding and alter the proportions.

Saute the vegetables, adding a good splash of tamari, worchestershire sauce and lemon juice. Add the cooked brown rice and halloumi and cook through so it's all hot and the halloumi is soft. Fold in the jalapenos or preserved lemon. Serve with fresh parsley and pan fried seeds such as sunflower or pepitas. I didn't have either for today so I just finished off with jalapeno. Not as pretty but it still tasted great.

Honestly, it's one of those slap together meals that's so nutritious, sounds a little wierd, but is uber tasty.

Let me know if you try it!