Name: Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 6 small potatoes*; 1 large zucchini; 180 g halloumi; 50 g butter (divided); 2 heaped tablespoons za’ater (divided); 2 heaped teaspoons aleppo pepper (divided); 30 g parmesan (finely grated, divided*)

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Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi, golden brown on the outside, soft on the inside, and with a delightfully crunchy crust on the bottom. This traybake side dish is easy, quick and simple to make!

I am never on time for viral food trends.

I’m always slowly plodding around my kitchen, happily baking seasonal treats, and only get wind of new viral recipes after everyone is bored with them.

Pancake cereal, anyone?

But I might only be behind a little when it comes to parmesan crusted potatoes. Maybe?

I’m not sure who first posted about them over in tiktok land (there’s a lot…), but I first saw them on The Kitchn’s Instagram and loved the idea of a cheesy za’atar roasted potato. I used my own homemade blend (heavy on the sumac and sesame seeds), and added some zucchini and halloumi for more of a traybake side setup.

If we can have carbs on carbs, why can’t we have cheese on cheese??

Why you’ll Love this Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi Recipe

It’s ready in 35 minutes, and the prep work only takes 10 minutes!

The za’atar seasoned parmesan crust is crispy, moreish and delicious.

It’s a versatile side that goes with fish, chicken or meat, or eaten as a snack straight out the pan.

Ingredients for Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi

Here’s what you need to make the parmesan crusted traybake:

Potatoes. Obviously, the potatoes are the A-lister here, so get the best potatoes you can for roasting. I used Red Rascals, but you could also use Desiree, King Edwards (my favourite when I can get them), Royal Blue, Sebago, Maris Piper or Russet. Just make sure you use smaller potatoes so that the cook in 35 minutes.

Zucchini. Who doesn’t love roasted zucchini sprinkled with parmesan? It was a natural addition to the parmesan crusted traybake.

Halloumi. There’s no simple pleasure better than a perfectly golden piece of squeaky cheese. Enough said.

Salted Butter. This is the glue. And you need it to not only create the paste but to make the paste easy to spread over the base of the tin. You could substitute butter for oil, but make sure to use a neutral flavoured oil.

Seasoning. I used my own homemade blend of za’atar (recipe coming soon!) and some aleppo pepper flakes for a little heat. But as long as the seasoning is dry to help make a paste with the butter and parmesan, any seasoning you like goes. Scroll down a bit for a list of other flavour combos.

Parmesan. The few parmesan crusted potato videos that I watched all used bottled (dried?) parmesan. I only had a block so I used freshly grated parmesan and it still made a paste and worked a treat! So you can absolutely use either, whatever you’ve got at home already.

How to Make Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi

Yes, there’s a few extra steps with my version, but you’ll end up with crispy potatoes, thick rounds of yummy roasted zucchini and golden pieces of halloumi all in one tray. And it still only takes 35 minutes to cook! Here’s how you’ll make it:

Score your potatoes and veggies. Start by cutting your potatoes in half, slicing thick circles from the zucchini and cubing the halloumi. Then you want to cut a shallow crosshatch pattern into each piece. You want to cut deep enough to create openings for the parmesan mixture to get into, but not deep enough that you cut right through.

Prepare the parmesan paste. Working in half the pan, mix the paste up right in the pan by combining the melted butter, seasoning and parmesan. Flatten the paste out so it covers as much of the half pan as possible. Add the potatoes, scored side down, and push them gently into the parmesan paste.

Roast the potatoes. Roast just the potatoes for 15 minutes – yes, half the baking tray will be empty!

Add the zucchini and halloumi. Mix together the remaining melted butter, seasoning and parmesan in the empty half of the pan, spreading the paste out thinly and evenly to coat as much of the pan as possible. Add the zucchini and halloumi pieces, scored side down, and nestle them gently into the parmesan paste.

Continue roasting. Pop the pan back in the oven and roast for another 15-20 minutes or until everything is cooked through, golden brown and has beautiful parmesan crust on the bottom.

Serve.

The full directions are in the recipe card below.

Flavour Variations

Parmesan is the one ingredient you can’t skip out on; you need it to melt in the oven and form that tasty crust on the bottom of the vegetables and cheese. But for the flavouring, any seasoning goes. Add your favourite or try one of these combos:

rosemary, garlic and paprika
lemon and your favourite herbs
brown butter and parmesan
curry powder
fresh chive garnish
leftover caramelised onions
cumin and coriander
coriander and lime
sirarcha and soy sauce
garlic yogurt sauce for dipping
cajun seasoning.

Looking for other tasty veggie sides? Try these recipes too:

If you make this Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi, please be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Did you use za’atar or did you switch up the seasoning? Or tag me over on Instagram, I love seeing what you guys are making from the blog!

Parmesan Za’atar Crusted Vegetables with Halloumi

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Western

Diet: halloumi, parmesan, potatoes, za’atar, zucchini

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 35

Servings:

Author: Eff | Food Daydreaming

Equipment

Ingredients

6 small potatoes*
1 large zucchini
180 g halloumi
50 g butter, divided
2 heaped tablespoons za’ater, divided
2 heaped teaspoons aleppo pepper, divided
30 g parmesan, finely grated, divided*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200C.
Cut the small potatoes in half and then score a shallow crosshatch pattern into the cut side of each half. Cut thick rounds from the zucchini and cut the crosshatch pattern into each piece, making sure to not cut all the way through. Cut the halloumi into cubes and score the same crosshatch pattern into each cube.
6 small potatoes*, 1 large zucchini, 180 g halloumi
Working with half of the tray only, mix half the melted butter, half the za’atar, half the aleppo pepper and half the parmesan together until you have a paste. Gently spread the paste out to cover half the tray – it’s okay to have a few small gaps in the paste, the parmesan will melt and spread a little. Add the potatoes, scored side down, and nestle them gently into the paste.
50 g butter, 2 heaped tablespoons za’ater, 2 heaped teaspoons aleppo pepper, 30 g parmesan
Roast just the potatoes for 15 minutes – yes, half the baking tray will be empty!
Remove the tray from the oven (leave the potatoes where they are – do not lift them yet!). In the empty side of the tray, combine the remaining melted butter, za’atar, aleppo pepper and parmesan. Mix to make another paste and spread it out to cover the rest of the tray. Add the zucchini and halloumi pieces, scored side down, and push them gently into the parmesan paste.
Pop the whole tray back into the over and roast for another 15-20 minutes or until everything is cooked through, golden brown and has beautiful parmesan crust on the bottom.
Serve as a traybake side or as a snack eaten right out of the baking tray!

Cook along with me

Notes

A note on potatoes. Use the best potatoes you can for roasting you can get. I used Red Rascals, but you could also use Desiree, King Edwards (my favourite when I can get them), Royal Blue, Sebago, Maris Piper or Russet. Just make sure you use smaller potatoes so that the cook in 35 minutes.

A note on parmesan. I used freshly grated parmesan, because that’s what I had, and it worked perfectly. So the amount of parmesan is based on freshly grated. You can also use shelf-stable, dried parmesan or pre-grated parmesan from the dairy section in your supermarket and adjust accordingly.

A note on flavourings. Don’t like za’ater? Add your favourite seasoning instead or try one of these combos: rosemary, garlic and paprika, lemon and your favourite herbs, brown butter and parmesan, curry powder, fresh chive garnish, leftover caramelised onions, cumin and coriander, coriander and lime, sirarcha and soy sauce, garlic yogurt sauce for dipping, cajun seasoning.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @food_daydreaming or tag #fooddaydreaming on instagram. I love seeing what you all come up with!

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